Celebrating Black Stories

Voices from Johannesburg, Chicago, Lagos and Jamaica

Field Guide Vol. 240

Black History Month begins tomorrow in the US and Canada. At Stranger's Guide, we are taking this month to celebrate Black storytelling, both contemporary and historical. So, in honor of Black History Month, we're dedicating today's Field Guide to Black storytelling from around the world. Please join us in sharing and amplifying Black voices and stories this month and throughout the year.

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Lem’s Bar-B-Q. Photograph by A.V. Benford.

The Gospel of Mild Sauce

By A.V. Benford

Velva didn’t cook on Sundays. Not for the house. Before I’d hit double digits she’d ended the practice. Left me five dollars on her dresser for after church, an exercise in autonomy. An early opportunity to personalize my palate, fill my belly. In the ’90s, five dollars a meal set the table for a queen, options upon options of Park Manor’s delicacies.

On 71st and Vincennes there was an A1 sandwich shop, their hit—the full 10 inch. Call it a hero, a hoagie or a sub, a few dollars bought a handcrafted dream, a sacrifice of ingredient autonomy. Meat and veg and cheese layered interdependently. Into the belly with the first half, save the second half for later, dinner’s option. And every order came with fries. Golden, hot, crispy delicacies tightly shoved into a small paper bag, sauced in red that hit with tang—their mild sauce was hostile, it bit and it slapped.

Dollars of Velva’s allowances given as tithe to Black Chicago’s autonomy. Triumphs and tragedies carved into the Black Belt’s underbelly. King Fish sat near the corner of 71st and King, the seafood option of Sunday’s journeys. Fried fish and wings were their delicacies.