Five historic restaurants that fed the civil rights movement

BBC News

2 days ago

From a Memphis fried chicken joint to a tamale counter in Jackson, these restaurants didn't just feed civil rights leaders – they funded, sheltered and fuelled the fight for equality.
The unassuming brick-and-siding facade of Lannie's BBQ Spot in Selma, Alabama, belies the rich history within. Named one of the nation's best restaurants by USA Today, this family-run eatery has long been more than a place for charred ribs and tangy sauce. As BBC Travel show host Reece Parkinson discovered on a recent trip to mark the 60th anniversary of the protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Lannie's also played a vital role in the civil rights movement.
"My mother and my grandmother fed a lot of people in the march," said Floyd Hatcher, who runs Lannie's today. His grandmother, Lannie Moore Travis, opened the restaurant in 1942 and made it one of Selma's first racially integrated dining spaces. During the 1965 Selma march for equal voting rights – which was met with extreme violence – Lannie's became a safe haven for protestors to gather.
"Barbecue brings people together," Hatcher added. "Don't care what race you are."
Today, restaurants like Lannie's are still bringing people together, serving up delicious dishes alongside a deeper understanding of the role these spaces played in the fight for justice. This year marks both the 60th anniversary of the Selma March and the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where African Americans refused to ride the city's public transportation in protest of segregated seating laws. These historical milestones shine a light on the movement's famous activists as well as on the small, Black-owned businesses that helped make the fight for equality possible.
"Food was always a crucial component of the civil rights movement," explained Bobby J Smith, associate professor of African American studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and author of the book Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. "Bringing food to the conversation really just expands the story that we already know. It also introduces new characters, new programmes [and] new actors. There [were many] unnamed women who were doing that kind of work."
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According to Smith, Black-owned restaurants, and even home cooks, were in many ways the bedrock of the movement, putting lives and livelihoods on the line for justice. They provided more than meals; they offered safe spaces to meet and strategise, gave moral support, and in some cases, covered travel and bail costs that were out of reach for many of the working-class activists. Whether through fundraisers, bake sales or out-of-pocket donations, Black business owners throughout the US South used their success and community status to do the quiet work of funding a revolution.
The anniversaries of these momentous events come as the US wrestles with the implications of sweeping funding cuts to institutions that support African American history. "Whether it's in university spaces, in federal agencies [or] just in everyday lives, these kinds of stories are being erased or sidelined," Smith said. "But food can be that space to recover [them]."
Though many of the businesses from the movement have closed, there are several restaurants across the South that were once important hubs for strategy, solidarity and community. Here are five you can still visit:
Dooky Chase in New Orleans, Louisiana
A New Orleans institution known for its classic Creole cooking, Dooky Chase was a hotspot for civil rights organisers, lawyers and freedom fighters in the 1950s and still offers classic New Orleans dishes like seafood gumbo to politicians and celebrities today. Not only were civil rights icons like Thurgood Marshall, Ernest "Dutch" Morial and Oretha Castle Haley all frequent patrons, but chef Leah Chase, sometimes called the "Queen of Creole Cuisine", transformed its dining room into a gallery space for the city's African American artists.
Brenda's Bar-B-Q Pit in Montgomery, Alabama
Originally opened in 1942 as the Siesta Club, Brenda's Bar-B-Q Pit has been a staple in Montgomery ever since. Brenda's back room was used as a safe haven during the Montgomery bus boycott, where organisers could meet and create leaflets to hand out in support of the movement. It was also where owner Jereline Bethune taught reading and writing classes to help African Americans pass the discriminatory literacy tests required to vote in elections. Today, the tiny, brick take-out joint still serves up some of the best barbecue in the city, though visitors should be sure to bring cash.
The Four Way Grill in Memphis, Tennessee
Located in the historic neighbourhood of Soulsville, near the legendary Stax recording studio (now the Stax Museum of American Soul), The Four Way is a classic soul food restaurant with long ties to the African American community. It hosted many of the city's civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr, who frequently dined here before his assassination in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis, now the National Civil Rights museum. Visitors can order a classic "meat and three", a main meat dish with three sides, while perusing photos of the icons who dined here.
Paschal's Motor Hotel and Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia
Once referred to as the unofficial headquarters of the civil rights movement for the number of activists that visited, Paschal's has prepared Southern dishes, like their famous fried chicken, since 1947, first at the original location on West Hunter Street and now in the Castleberry Hill Arts District, where it moved in 2002. The Paschal brothers, who owned the restaurant, were key figures in the movement, often posting bond for protestors and serving complimentary meals to families reuniting with loved ones who had been detained or arrested by police for their involvement in protests.
Big Apple Inn in Jackson, Mississippi
Known for its pig ear sandwiches and Mississippi hot tamales, the original Big Apple Inn was a fixture on Farish Street, which was the centre of Black life in Jackson in the 1950s and '60s. In 1954, the space above the small family-owned takeaway spot served as the offices for the activist Medgar Evers, the Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), a civil rights organisation dedicated to equality for African Americans. Evers was instrumental in leading the fight for desegregation of Mississippi schools, beaches and parks before his assassination in 1963.
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