Juneteenth - California

There’s a lot going on on and around June 19 in LA area, food, music, history and more

here’s an interesting new cookbook too:

Watermelon and Red Birds | Book by Nicole A. Taylor | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster (simonandschuster.com)

We are looking forward to celebrating and welcome any reports of food, music and fun.

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In honor…here’s some stuff where LA Black history and food intersect:

Freddie Keppard and the Creole Jazz Orchestra were from Nola and posted up at a BBQ/barbershop which is now the location of Los Angeles Fish Co.

The first black jazz records ever were recorded in Santa Monica and created by Nola veteran Kid Ory. They were labeled and sold by Spikes Brothers’ Music Store on 1203 S Central Ave Los Angeles.

The Xpress Nightclub (Karaoke bar) at 4289 Beverly Blvd…

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was formerly the Beverly Cavern Club where a bunch of old jazz was played by King Ory and others (below is an interior shot - Kid Ory played trombone)

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Our living legend here in LA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, has written more on this and this article is a starting point for folks that might want to learn more. The local history is rich and jazz, food and drink have always gone together well. Leimert Park is just one place this weekend where that legacy will live on.

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Corner of Washington and National, Culver City used to be the home of Sebastian’s Cotton Club, or the New Cotton Club…it burned down.

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some other relevant history of black owned restaurants and great migration history in LA…

Fatburger, Famous Amos Cookies, and more have stood the test of time and continue to prosper.

The High on the Hog series on Netflix is well worth seeing and there’s another season coming out …

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