Ask Gwendolyn Baines
NNPA
Dear Gwendolyn:
Yes, I admit. I am a country girl. My grandparents had a farm and every summer and during Christmas school break, we would leave the projects and visit them. Not only did I enjoy the farm, the food was unbelievably good.
This is the problem: I am all grown up and married. However, there is so much compromising in married life. Guess what….the woman is usually the one to compromise. I often tell all these single women who can’t enjoy their single life for trying to get married to chill. After all, married life seems to be a world of someone telling you what you can’t do.
My husband is filing for divorce because against his request I cooked chitterlings. He had gone out of town for a conference and came back one day earlier than expected. When he walked into the house, he went into a rage. He threw away the cooking pot and left to stay with a friend (a female friend).
Gwendolyn, what’s going on with Black folks and chitterlings? My husband left me.
Paula
Dear Paula:
As to your statement of “What’s going on with Black folks and chitterlings…ask yourself, “What’s going on with Black folks and a lot of issues?”
You are not the only person whose husband does not want to have a meal consisting of chitterlings – and it is not because of health reasons. The meat called chitterlings is associated with slavery. Chitterlings (as the story was passed down) were fed to the slaves and the ham, pork chops and other prime parts of the hog were cooked and served to the massa. Slaves were left with the feet, ears, tail and even the head.
Now let me tell you this: The problem with Black folks is denial of their past. They have had to endure so much until they want to erase everything bad that has been said or done. They try so hard to be accepted. When I said “other issues,” that’s what I meant. They stopped eating watermelon until they saw other races enjoyed the fruit. They stopped eating turnip greens and collard greens until other races started liking the vegetable. Your husband used the chitterlings to move out and move in with a friend who is probably his girlfriend.
Paula, let him go. And think about this. Black folks will never succeed as a race until they can — become proud people.