This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and TMN. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’s communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
By Claire Ballor
Dallas Morning News Writer
Sweet potatoes are an important connection to the past on the holiday table of Black American families, says Deah Berry Mitchell.
There’s one non-negotiable ingredient on Deah Berry Mitchell’s holiday table every year—sweet potatoes.
“In Black households, for the most part, we are all very die-hard sweet potato fans,” Mitchell says. “It’s not uncommon to have a sweet potato casserole, a mashed sweet potato, and a sweet potato pie. I think the more sweet potatoes you can ingest into your system around the holidays, the better.”
The cookbook author and director of marketing for the Dallas Historical Society says sweet potatoes are more than a favorite starchy side dish or dessert. They’re an important connection to the past.
