Red drink

History

Historians think red drinks helped keep African diaspora communities connected during and after the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved people brought kola nut beverages and hibiscus tea, both red drinks from West African cuisine, to Caribbean plantations by carrying seeds across the ocean. Kola nut was an original ingredient and gave cola its name; food historian Adrian Miller describes cola as a red drink "in disguise." Hibiscus tea became tied to Caribbean celebrations because the roselle flower, used to make the drink, blooms around Christmas.

Enslaved people and their descendants adapted bissap, the original hibiscus tea, into sorrel and agua de Jamaica using whatever ingredients were available in the Caribbean. On plantations, both kola nut drinks and hibiscus tea were valued for their medicinal uses: kola nut was believed to restore energy to exhausted enslaved workers and treat stomach problems, while hibiscus tea was used for pain, inflammation, and high blood pressure.

In the United States, where kola nut and hibiscus are harder to grow, African Americans have turned to other red drinks since at least the 1860s. During the Civil War and Reconstruction, a red mixture of molasses and water was common at Black holiday celebrations and even served as communion wine in Black churches. Enslaved people in the American South also drank sassafras tea, and Southern newspapers and magazines from that time mention "red whiskey."

By the 1880s, pink lemonade had become popular among African Americans, and by the 1890s it was linked to Emancipation Day. By the 1920s, red soft drinks were showing up at Juneteenth celebrations. Red Kool-Aid has been called "the official soul food drink," and Black American soldiers in Vietnam often got packages of red Kool-Aid from their families back home. Molasses-and-water, pink lemonade, red sodas like Big Red, and Kool-Aid were all cheap, making them easy for economically disadvantaged African Americans in the rural post-Civil War South to afford.

Association with Juneteenth

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States through federal enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, celebrated annually on June 19. Red foods and drinks are traditionally served at Juneteenth celebrations, their color symbolizing the resilience and ingenuity of enslaved African Americans. Several folk stories explain the significance of red beverages to Juneteenth: the red may symbolize joy, the blood shed by enslaved ancestors, or the resilience of those enslaved people. It may also reference West African kola nut drinks and hibiscus tea, or red as a color associated with royalty in West Africa, or simply serve as a connection to previous generations of African Americans who consumed red drinks.