What I Learned From Nat Fuller

There are two things that I enjoy immensely. Learning history and eating food, the latter of which I daily show my expertise. Last weekend my wife and I attended a lecture and tasting event hosted by the local historical society. Historian David Shields was joined by Kevin Mitchell, a chef and culinary instructor, to talk about their latest book on the cultural influences on food and the history that surrounds it.

During the presentation, Dr. Shields and Chef?Mitchell told stories of the history of regional cuisine, especially of African influences in foods common to southern states. They also shared a story I’d never heard before, one which inspired me in this time of learning during?Black History Month.

I’ll try and paraphrase the story for you:

By February 1865 the Civil War was practically over. Southern cities like Atlanta and Savannah had already been rampaged by Sherman’s troops. Union troops walked virtually uninhibited into a half-destroyed Charleston, SC, recently abandoned by a broken Confederate Army.

Nat Fuller was there and would have seen it all happen before his eyes. He was somewhat of a celebrity in Charleston, known for his baking skills and especially his preparation of meats and dishes of the day. On the 18th of February Nat Fuller’s life changed, because up to that day he had been enslaved.

Nat could have done a lot of things after gaining his freedom, but he began very quickly to help rebuild his destroyed city. Within weeks of the end of the civil war, he organized a banquet. But his guest list for the event did not just include wealthy men and conquerors. This feast was something different. Nat served his specialty courses to prominent citizens, union soldiers, former secessionists and freed men. It may have been the first meal in Charleston where diverse citizens sat in equality, side by side around a table, just as Fuller intended. It was in that historic city, where the first shot of the civil war was fired, that a former enslaved person provided the United States with a demonstration of post-war restoration and a new civility.

In April 2015, Nat Fuller’s Feast, was recreated in Charleston by Shields and Mitchell. Chef Mitchell painstakingly recreated the original menu (right down to the turtle soup) and a group of diverse citizens were invited to partake in a meal, discussing social challenges and new opportunities. It didn’t escape anyone attending the banquet that some of the greatest societal progress can start by simply coming together, sitting side by side and listening to one another. I can’t imagine what hardships Mr. Fuller endured in his lifetime, even after he gained freedom. But then as today, we all benefit from the courage, forward thinking and grace that Nat Fuller demonstrated through the power of community, open-dialogue and his dinner table.

#BlackHistoryMonth

If you are interested in reading more about this story, check this out:

https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/nat_fuller