The ShoeBox Lunch

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act became the law of the land. One function of the bill was to eliminate overt racism while traveling. Yet even after the bill went into effect, many food establishments kept forcing black customers to order food from side windows.

I never understood why my family did not ever use walk-up windows at food establishments. It’s easier to walk up to a window in the summer and get a treat, right? Nope- I was not allowed to, not even to get a doughnut at my favorite doughnut place. One time I asked my Mother, “Why not?”

Ahhh, you don’t know the history.”

In the US, public accommodations, such as eateries and hotels, could no longer refuse service to African-Americans and People of Color, but a lot of them still did or engaged in certain tactics that would deny certain individuals. Side and back windows were installed and the perpetual “NO VACANCY” sign was put up when People of Color showed up.

We all know of the brave students that started a youth-led movement to sit-in at the lunch counter at Woolworth’s, don’t we? On February 1, 1960, four Black college students sat down at a lunch counter at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused. When asked to leave, they remained in their seats. Their passive resistance and peaceful sit-down demand helped to ignite a powerful challenge against racial inequality throughout the South.

Greensboro first day

Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil and David L. Richmond leave the Woolworth store after the first sit-in on February 1, 1960.

The shoebox lunch (breakfast, dinner) was created before the 1960s though.

If they were denying Black Folks and People of Color when it was the Law to serve us, imagine how it was beforehand?

The shoebox lunch was not only a means to eat, when and where businesses would not serve you, but it was also a means of keeping you alive.

Not everyone used an actual wood shoebox. Different vessels served the same purpose. Historical photos of the second Great Migration show Black Americans in bus and train stations carrying metal lunch pails, crumpled paper sacks and packages tied with fabric or string. For individual leisure or business travel, the mode was always discretion, and dignity while consuming food was of the utmost importance.

Pre-made meals packed in the shoeboxes or in coolers, not only reduced costs but kept you safe. You can get a lot of food in a shoebox back in those days. Back then, shoeboxes were usually made from wood, nothing like the little boxes of cardboard of today.

The shoebox lunch probably started with the Pullman Porters in the late 1860s. Most, if not all of the Pullman Rail Company Porters were Black and a lot of them were ex-slaves. They worked an average of 20 hours a day and could not engage on the luxury trains they serviced because it was segregated.

Eating in the dining cars or even near the White passengers was strictly forbidden. Most of them ate and took short naps sitting on couches in the smoking car whenever they could. They heavily relied on shoebox lunches, either made at home or purchased from a vendor. The company that employed them didn’t allow them to integrate with their patrons. The eateries, restaurants, cafés and hotels did not allow for them to get food, use their facilities and/or integrate with their White patrons either.

The shoebox lunch was essential- not only sustenance but for survival. It was quite dangerous to even venture outdoors, especially at night for Black folks (called Negroes then).

The Pullman Rail Company employed the largest population of Black men in the country at the time. And although they were severely overworked, mistreated and paid meager wages (thank goodness for those tips), it made way for a Middle Class system within Black Communities.

Shoebox meals had to last for hours without refrigeration. Fried chicken and ham sandwiches were staples in the box. Boiled eggs and potato salad were quite common. Fresh fruit that would keep, like oranges and apples also made it to the box. And always a slice of pie or sweet pound cake were usually included too.

It was such an ingenious way to transport food on the road, that soon lunch boxes became the norm.