Juneteenth | A Celebration
I'm only four generations removed from slavery.
My paternal great-grandparents, Mary Sloan Cowan and Enoch Cowan, were the first free-born generation of our lineage. For them, freedom wasn't free or freeing. As I look back at what they accomplished, I'm awed at how they were able to make something out of nothing. And how they made a way out of no way.
My Juneteenth celebration was in honor of them -- their courage, their resourcefulness, their hard work, their faith, their efforts to leave something for the generations to follow. Even in their harshest realites, they dared to dream of something better. I am me because of them.
Mary Sloan Cowan and Enoch Cowan
Mary was a homemaker and raised 7 children. Enoch helped build Cedar Grove AME Zion church in Cleveland, NC. He was also the first school teacher in our family.
Source: Tremayne Smith
Juneteenth Menu
Louisiana Barbecued Shrimp
Juneteenth Collard Green Salad
Sweet Potato Salad
Juneteenth Strawberry Soda
Louisiana Barbecued Shrimp
You won’t find any barbecue sauce in this dish impired by the iconic B. Smith. “Barbecue shrimp” is just the name Louisiana Creole cooks assigned to shrimp braised in wine, beer, or garlic-butter sauce.
Source: Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking
Juneteenth Collard Green Salad
A salad using raw collard greens, bell peppers, and vinagrette.
Source: Black Girls Who Brunch
Sweet Potato Salad
This dish is a popular alternative to classic potato salad with a connection to the topics.
Source: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking
Juneteenth Strawberry Soda
No self-respecting Juneteenth party can go down without a traditional strawberry soda drink.
Source: This Worthey Life
