“They got some cream in there,” has to be one of my father’s favorite lines. Translation: “I bought some ice cream, if y’all didn’t notice, and it’s available for y’all to partake.”
And I know for a fact that we (Walker Nation) are not the only Black family who enjoy us some ice cream. That said, have you ever wondered what the Blackest ice cream flavors are? I have. And I don’t have to wonder. I know.
I conducted a very scientific non-scientific study to determine the answer. And remember, this is not about the ice cream flavor Blacks like the most, but rather the Blackest ice cream flavor. Sure, there may be some overlap, but you’ll see what I mean.
Just keep reading.
#5, Neapolitan
Though the research compiled via my very scientific unscientific poll suggested that Wild Card might take the number five slot (Wild Card being a hodge-podge of all the different flavors listed that didn’t crack the top four slots), Neapolitan came out the winner here. There was a whole Black Walnut contingent pushing that flavor as number one. And folk made compelling arguments why Rum Raisin, Sherbert, Mint Chocolate Chip, Rocky Road and Strawberry are Black personified. But because we all grew up enduring Neapolitan, it edged those others out. I mean, don’t act like you don’t know. That huge tub of ice cream lined up from chocolate to vanilla to strawberry, all in one, was in every Black household with a Frigidaire (ice box), from sea to shining sea. So, it had to make this list. It was the cheapest, most available ice cream, and it allowed darn near everybody in the house to get what they wanted. Y’all all know somebody who scooped out only one or two of those three Neapolitan flavors, and left the other(s) for the rest of the fam. I’m just trying to figure out why nobody pushed for Tin Roof as a top Black flavor. You betta axe somebody!
#4, Vanilla
Vanilla lovers have a solid argument why their flavor of choice should be considered the Blackest of them all. Hell, we wouldn’t even have vanilla ice cream had it not been for a Black man (Edmond Albius). Not only that, the vanilla bean is literally Black. So, on every level, there is no vanilla without Blackness. Plus, the history of vanilla ice cream is symbolic of Black history in this Babylon. Black people were literally not allowed to eat vanilla ice cream except on one day of the year because whitefolk viewed vanilla as symbolic of their whiteness [Quick aside: It’s amazing that they took something so Black and lifted it up as a symbol of their “whateverness”]. Yes, America was/is so racist, ice cream was segregated. But because this list is not basing Blackness on our trauma and mistreatment (because we are so, so, so much more than that), vanilla was disqualified as being the winner.
#3, Butter Pecan
Yes, butter pecan was created by Blackfolk because of racist America Jim Crowing Vanilla. And yes, I just said Black trauma was not a ticket to win the top spot on this list. But what’s so Black about butter pecan is it speaks to Black creativity and Black ingenuity and that spirit of Blackfolk making a way out of no way, which stretches far beyond our more recent history in the Americas and reflects our more ancient history (you know, the one that finds us giving birth to religion, art, science, and civilization). We create stuff. That’s what we do. That’s who we are. Trauma or no trauma, we lead and the world follows.
#2, Chocolate
I mean, c’mon. It’s chocolate. We love us some chocolate anything, so, of course chocolate ice cream is in the running for the Blackest flavor. However, the top spot goes to…
#1, Anything Homemade
Like the ingenuity our people showed in birthing butter pecan, the economic thriftiness we displayed by enduring Neapolitan, and the creative genius we exhibited by introducing to the world vanilla (a Black thing stolen from us and turned white… kinda like the history of ancient Egypt/Kemet, Christianity/Jesus and a thousand other things that were culturally appropriated), the longstanding Black tradition of making homemade ice cream is another example of our greatness. The tradition of this practice. The ingenuity. The “no man/woman/barrier shall hinder me” attitude. The creativity. The family/community gatherings. All of these things are on full display via the art of making ice cream at the crib. Or at least it used to be. I don’t see too many of us doing this today. But it might just be time to pick this practice back up. And when I ask Blackfolk to share the best ice cream they ever had in life, homemade has always been the answer.
