A Steak in Your Vote
Courtesy of The New York Public Library
Here is another story in our series stumping and eating which looks at the role of food in political elections. We are just weeks away from midterm elections which will determine who controls the U. S. House of Representatives and the U. S. Senate. In addition there are important local and state elections. The political fervor reminds me of a story that my late Cousin Katie Green told me. It was election season in the 1990s and I was surprised to learn that she was a registered Republican. I was Surprised because, like most African Americans, our family was full of registered Democrats with roots in the political realignment that occurred with blacks flocked to the Dems during the era of FDR and his Federal National Relief Agency (NRA). The NRA provided food relief for many African Americans on the verge of starvation. The story goes that Cousin Katie moved to Syracuse from Ossining, New York sometime in the late 1950s. She quickly learned that the Republican Party in her area of the city gave out fat and juicy steaks to those who supported GOP candidates. As result, during tough times, some like my cousin realigned themselves politically with their stomachs.
