In the classroom, we celebrated Black History Month by listening to two poems written and read by contemporary Black artists. The first, Jordan Chaney’s “Conflict,” is dedicated to America’s migrant workers. The second, “A Love Letter to Future Generations,” is by Naima Penniman of Soul Fire Farm in New York.
In the kitchen, the second graders made hot tamales, a speciality of the Mississippi Delta that some historians believe grew out of the meeting of migrant Mexican farm laborers and African Americans picking cotton side by side in the early twentieth century. Hot tamales are traditionally filled with pork, but our vegan version incorporated sweet corn and poblano peppers. Unlike Mexican tamales, the dough is made with cornmeal instead of masa harina. Everyone had a lot of fun working with the corn husks and the dough, but it was a messy endeavor with a reward at the end that was worth the wait! Black history is American history. Black food is American food.
