They used it as a tool for resistance and liberation when enslaved, becoming specialists in their craft and eventually entrepreneurs, spreading it across the country. Through themed chapters, Miller shows the reader how intrinsic African Americans have always been to barbecue. His book starts by explaining how Native Americans invented open-fire cooking, eventually transferring those skills to enslaved African Americans when they became the main source of forced labor in the U.S. A lawyer and public policy adviser by way of Georgetown and Stanford universities, Miller served as special assistant to President Bill Clinton and senior policy analyst for Colorado Gov. His parents, from Arkansas and Tennessee, made barbecue on holidays, and Miller’s first full-time job was at a barbecue chain. Miller was born in Denver, and lives there now. The romance lasted only a few dates after Miller washed off the smoke, but his love of barbecue is still going strong. Paul Miller Show More Show LessĪdrian Miller begins the introduction of his new book, “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue” (University of North Carolina Press, April 2021), with the admission that he once canceled a blind date because he smelled like the barbecue he had had for lunch. Paul Miller Show More Show Less 9 of9Īdrian Miller published 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' in April 2021. 8, 1917 Show More Show Less 8 of9Īdrian Miller published 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' in April. Newspaper advertisement for Henry Perry's barbecue in Kansas City, Missouri, published in 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of America' by Adrian Miller. She is featured in 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' by Adrian Miller. Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration, Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library Show More Show Less 6 of9Ĭalifornia-based Sylvie Curry cooks in barbecue competitions as Lady of Q.

Adrian Miller Show More Show Less 5 of9Ī man slices barbecue at a lunch stand at the Gonzales County Fair in Gonzales, Texas, in 1939, published in 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' by Adrian Miller.

Jai Williams Show More Show Less 4 of9Ī chopped pork shoulder with mustard slaw at Payne's Bar-B-Q in Memphis, Tennessee, published in 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' by Adrian Miller. Courtesy of Adrian Miller and UNC Press Show More Show Less 3 of9Īdrian Miller’s “Black Smoke” features restaurants such as Backyard BBQ in Durham, N.C. Paul Miller Show More Show Less 2 of9Īdrian Miller published 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' in April 2021. Adrian Miller published 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' in April 2021.

Black smoke by adrian miller