Before the Food Truck....

When I say the Black people are the originators of everything, I mean just that! When we speak of being the first, we tend not to picture food trucks and their precursors.  As I was reading the book Harlem Stomp by Laban Carrick Hill, there was a short passaged titled, "The Legendary Pig Foot Mary." The passage states that a woman named Lillian Harris arrived in New York City in 1901 and began selling pig feet and "Southern delicacies." She used the money she made to invest in Harlem properties. After reading that, I knew I had to learn more about this amazing ancestor.

A quick Google search stated that she left the "Mississippi Delta." Now if you know me, you know this was the spark that created the roaring fire for my search for even more information. I read every article that came up and began to piece together the life of Lillian Harris Dean. 

The Mississippi Delta encompasses around 7,000 square miles that include parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas (I grew up in the Arkansas Delta.) I wanted to learn what part of the Delta she was from specifically. I did find one article that stated it was more than likely Belzoni, Mississippi. She was born around 1870 and was part of the first wave of Black Southerners who left the brutal south during the Great Migration. 

Upon arriving in Harlem, Lillian worked as a domestic as did most Black women during that time. However, she'd made a promise to herself that she would not work in white folks' kitchen and with her first pay of $5 began to fulfll that promise. With that $5, she made her initial investment....a used baby carriage, a large washtub, hog maws and pigs'feet. She posted her makeshift station near businesses that employed Black folks from the south....she knew they'd want that down home cooking. She was right on the money, her business grew so fast that soon she expanded her menu and added better equipment.  She became known as Pig Foot Mary and many only knew her by that name.

The mention of Pig Foot Mary in Harlem Stomp is in the chapter devoted to the rise of Harlem as the Black Metropolis. Before Harlem, many of our ancestors lived in Black Bohemia, a section of Manhattan. Because of segregation and white racism, they were confined to this overpriced, congested area. It was only because of the overly ambitious and greed of white investors that Black folks were provided the opportunity to move in. As history teaches, this was met with much resistance BUT our ancestors fought back and white flight was the result. 

Mama Lillian used her income to purchase and invest in Harlem property. She purchased an apartment house and other real estate. She would sell them all at a profit and retire to California. 

She is featured in Jessica Harris' High on the Hog (pages 177-178.) There is also a children's book, Pig Foot Mary: An American Dream--From Rags to Riches. I have ordered my copy. 

Pig Foot Mary, an illiterate Black woman from the Mississippi Delta...we salute you!