This year, June 19th is a double holiday. While Juneteenth always falls on June 19th, this year Father’s Day does as well. And wouldn’t you know it, one of the main traditional ways to celebrate both holidays is with a barbecue. That makes perfect sense, for two holidays that both come in the middle of June, right? So this year is the perfect time to celebrate both holidays at once, with a barbecue.
There’s a good reason so many Americans love barbecue, because the cooking technique as an art-form is intrinsically tied to American history. The word itself is derived from the extinct language Taino, which was the native language of most of the Caribbean until Spanish took over. In Taino, the word was “barbakoa”, which meant meat cooked or smoked over an open flame, or coals, which in the Caribbean method was usually done with the meat supported on a frame of sticks. In Spanish, which adopted the word, the word changes only slightly, with the k being replaced by a c. And in English, we get back to Barbecue, or as many know it, BBQ.
As barbecue historian Adrian Miller explained to barbecuebible.com “Old school barbecue is so labor intensive—digging the pits, chopping the wood, butchering, processing, and cooking the animals—that the massive feasts were mainly possible because enslaved African Americans did the work.” Over a few centuries time the art form matured and was passed down through the generations of slaves. The most skilled slaves became the first pitmasters. And once emancipated, former slaves like Mary John and “Old” Arthur Watts found their skills in high demand. Watts, for instance, lived to be 107 years old, and often cooked for thousands of people at a time.
Like Juneteenth, Father’s Day has long been intrinsically linked to barbecuing, as well. Although Father’s Day started at a Spokane, Washington YMCA, it was recognized by two US Presidents, before a third would finally make it a formal national holiday. First was Calvin Coolidge, second Was Lyndon Johnson, and finally Richard Nixon declared the holiday. But it was LBJ who tied the holiday to the third Sunday in June, setting it up to collide with Juneteenth in 2022. And LBJ was an avid barbecue fan. Coincidence? You decide.
One thing is clear, this Juneteenth Father’s Day is the perfect day for a barbecue in Dad’s honor, in honor of American history, and the significant portion of it that is black history.
