Author shares flavors of the past
HARMONY — Belle Grove Plantation in northern Virginia had 276 enslaved people across its history, said Brian Johnson.
The story of Judah, the plantation's lead cook from 1816 to 1836, gives a face to one of those names, he said.
“These people are real,” said Johnson, a Luzerne County Community College part-time instructor of interpersonal communication. “Judah was real.”
The Novel Breads Eaters and Readers, a book club of about 15 members that meets at the Enchanted Olive in Harmony, hosted Johnson at its Feb. 3 meeting to discuss his book "Send Judah First: The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul,” a work of historical fiction released in August 2019, that illuminates the life of Judah, an enslaved woman at Belle Grove.
Other than a few historical records, most of the slaves' names have otherwise been erased from history, Johnson said.
Johnson first learned of the story of Judah during an overnight trip to the plantation with his students when he served as a faculty member in the department of academic enrichment at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and was the director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for Academic Excellence.
He decided to write a book about Judah that day as he imagined the life she would have led, he said.
In Judah's honor, Johnson included several recipes she would have made on the plantation.
Glazed apples, sweet potato pie and biscuits are among the recipes in the book, recipes that add both flavor and a glimpse into Judah's life, said Johnson.
Judah learns as an enslaved woman how to survive through food, he said.
Food is also the way Johnson, who is an avid baker, connects Judah's life to his own, he said, adding he learned to cook from his mother when he grew up in New Castle.
When he started to write the book, he intended to create something people could take recipes from.Originally, the recipes were designed to be created on an open fire in Judah's language, Johnson said. More than likely, Judah, an uneducated slave woman, would not have measured out ingredients, he said.Judah would have used pinches and handfuls, which Johnson has translated into easy-to-follow recipes for the reader.Book club member Grace Bickert made apple pandowdy, a dessert dish different from a pie because the crust is on the top.For the books they read, the club members tie in food whether eating at a restaurant or baking or cooking dishes from the era or country of the book's setting.Food gives flavor to the books they read, she said. Members talk about the food and why they made it, which adds depth to the reading.This was the book club's first experience having the book's author at its meeting, she said.Johnson's book was a hard read, she said.In hindsight, people say slavery was not right and often find it hard to realize it was part of the culture, she said.Johnson also discussed that plantation owners could not be good or bad, Bickert said.“There's not a good slave owner,” she said.
Bickert said the discussion gave readers an inside look at Johnson as he walked them through his experience as an author.Historically, social change takes the hero approach, said Johnson, who honors the struggles and accomplishments of the ordinary citizens who launched the civil rights movement by committing himself personally and professionally to the advancement of multicultural and inclusive education.He explains to his students how injustice works, how to make an impact and how they can become social change agents.“We can't wait for the next Martin Luther King,” he said. “We need you as a person to stand up and fight for what's right and make life better for others, including yourself.”American history education is lacking when it comes to understanding the daily life of enslaved people, Johnson said.Slaves were everyday human beings who had their own lives and desires, he said.Instead of interpreting slavery as bad, Johnson explains it is a tradition of survival because the people who might have been enslaved are stronger than imagined, he said.Black History Month is important for schoolchildren to learn, in addition to learning of many different cultures, because it helps them learn tolerance, Bickert said.People can observe Black History Month by reading books written by black authors, Johnson said.Johnson recommends Colson Whitehead, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar and writers of the Harlem Renaissance.Black History Month is a time for people to understand the contributions and impact of people of the African diaspora on America, Johnson said.When Johnson thinks about the role of the slave trade in American history, he said, “My ancestors built this country.”Johnson was shown the fingerprints and handprints in the concrete on the side of the home built by the people who were enslaved at the plantation, a home that is standing without the use of modern machinery, he said.Over 200 years later, the impact is still felt, Johnson said.“When I think about the contribution and significance of blacks who made impact, I'm in awe and humbled and honored to call myself black,” he said.
