Juke Joint Sweets
At Binya, we’re carrying a new line of gourmet foods called “Juke Joint Sweets” but we wanted to dig deeper in to the historical significance of the name to share with our readers.
Do you know what a Juke Joint was?
A Juke Joint dates back to slavery. It was a place for African Americans to gather without white supervision. Juke Joints were usually in an abandoned building or shack. It could be in a sharecropper shack out back, in someone’s house, or a desolate space outside.
It was a place that men (and sometimes women) could gather relatively freely. No two were exactly the same but some elements were similiar. A Juke Joint always had to have a bar. The bar could’ve been a large bucket of ice with a bottle of liquor, or it could’ve been a full counter with shelves an moonshine. The type of bar was no concern, just that it had one!
Most had a pool table, stage, seats, and decor. The decor was usually grand and vibrant, something to lighten the mood as soon as you entered, and the walls were painted with happy murals of dancing and drinking. Though African Americans were not permitted to gather or sometimes even sing and dance with each other during the rise of segregation, Juke Joints acted as a safe haven away from such imprisonment.
Music was an extremely significant cultural identity to the African American people and Juke Joints allowed them to not only dance with each other, but also sing their hearts out to the early blues, and later rock and roll. They acted as a base in the rise of new black music.
This new line of gourmet foods and snacks was named after a Juke Joint, perhaps envoking the carefree freeling that African American’s felt when visiting a Juke Joint. We’ll share more about the founder, Doug Jones, at a later date. In the meantime, stop by and try out what we have in stock! Carolina Whiskey Corn Moonshine Infused Caramel Popcorn, Sweet Potato Spiced Pecans, Pecan Crack, and Moonshine Infused Spiced Pecans.
Juke Joint Sweets stands for so much history, and we’re so glad to be carrying some of their mouth watering treats!
