Juneteenth has been celebrated for more than 150 years to mark the day that a group of enslaved Black people in Texas learned they had been officially freed more than two years earlier.
But for a new generation of families who celebrate Juneteenth as a federal holiday since President Joe Biden signed it into law in 2021, the day has become an opportunity to create new traditions that honor their heritage and ancestors.
Award-winning children’s author Alaïa Agostini has written a new book, “The Juneteenth Cookbook,” offering a blueprint for a delicious Juneteenth celebration, including 18 recipes and other activities to bring families together for this culturally-inspired day.
“The story of Juneteenth is a heavy one, and it has a lot of truth in it, but the joy part is what we really want to bring to life,” Agostini told The Grio in an interview from his home outside New York City. Surrounded by shelves of his previous books, including the Caribbean music-inspired tale “Big Tune: The Rise of a Dancehall Prince” and his 2022 book “A Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States,” Agostini reflected on the inspiration for his latest work.
“There hasn’t been a cookbook for children focused on Juneteenth before, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to tell the story of Juneteenth through food,” Agostini told The Grio.
Agostini worked with chef Taffy Elrod to develop recipes that are richly researched and history-infused. Recipes range from red velvet ice cream sandwiches to corn muffins with hot honey butter to a special recipe for “Saucy Chicken Sliders with Bangin’ Barbecue Sauce.” Barbecue is a food genre with a special connection to Black history.
“Barbecue is not originally an African tradition, it’s actually an indigenous tradition,” Agostini explains, “but when the colonists came to America, they learned about it and loved it. And of course, the slaves were forced to cook for the colonists, so they had to learn their tastes and what they liked. They learned how to make barbecue, and they brought their own flavors from their cultures, and it became this interesting celebratory nexus.”
The Juneteenth Cookbook also tells the story of an enslaved black woman who was able to buy her freedom with the profits she made from catering barbecues.
Agostini, a former marketing professional and mother of two, sought out unique stories like these when she turned to writing children’s books a few years ago.
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Coincidentally, Agostini herself embodies Black history: Her grandfather, a former BUILD activist, was the founder of a local Juneteenth celebration in Buffalo, New York, a memory that inspired Agostini to write “A Juneteenth Story” in 2022. So when approached about creating a general children’s cookbook, Agostini instead pitched a Juneteenth-focused cooking and activity book.
In a country where works by authors of color and diversity are constantly banned, and where there are ongoing efforts to drastically revise or erase Black history, Agostini’s work is a testament to the power of finding ways to creatively appeal to new generations.
“It’s the kids that really make it worthwhile,” Agostini told The Grio, “I want all kids to understand the story of Juneteenth…This holiday has been around for over 150 years, and it’s really personal efforts that have allowed these celebrations to continue…I write these books as an opportunity for kids to learn, because it will stay with them and it will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
