Etiquette for your Independence Day cookouts. This July 4th, people across the country will once again fire up their grills and get ready for a day full of sun, barbecues and fireworks. And whether you're heading to someone else's home to celebrate, or playing host duties yourself, there are a few things to consider to help make sure your barbecue is a star-spangled success. NPR's Michel Martin spoke to Carla Lalli Music, food director at Bon Appétit and the author of Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes To Make You A Great Cook, about the do's and don'ts of proper barbecue etiquette.
Festive dishes for your Fourth of July celebration. Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst has recipes using red, white, and blue food to celebrate America's birthday. |
PATRIOTISM AND PARTISANSHIP |
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images |
On the Fourth of July, President Trump plans to deliver a speech on the National Mall — a break from how Independence Day festivities in the capital are traditionally celebrated. The last U.S. president to speak on the National Mall on the Fourth of July was Harry Truman in 1951, marking the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. President Trump has a history of treating nonpolitical events like they're campaign rallies, especially if there is a large crowd on hand. His Fourth of July speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial will be just such a setting.
"President Trump is going against the grain of history, what the Fourth of July has meant in the past," says Patrick Maney, a presidential historian at Boston College. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Maney notes, the Fourth of July was the one day of the year when people in rural areas would be sure to come into town centers to gather and even listen to local politicians. "It brought people together in a way that no other holiday even including Christmas did," he says.
This community focus continues to this day, with small parades and fireworks displays at local parks and schools all over America. In short, Independence Day has never really been about Washington, D.C., or the president of the United States. |
In honor of the holiday, the folks at World Cafe! pulled together an all American-made Independence Day playlist. It includes a handful of literal July Fourth classics by Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann, X, James Taylor, and Galaxie 500. There are also songs with references to America like the original cast recording of "America" from West Side Story, Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star Spangled Banner" and Ray Charles' majestic version of "America, The Beautiful." Stream their playlist of songs about the red, white and blue, perfectly equipped for a July 4th barbecue. |
Drew Angerer/Getty Images |
"What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" posed Frederick Douglass to a gathering of abolitionists in Rochester, N.Y., in 1852. Admission to the speech was 12 cents, and the crowd at the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society was enthusiastic, voting unanimously to endorse the speech at its end. This speech would be remembered as one of the most poignant addresses by Douglass, a former slave turned statesman. Douglass gave it on July 5, refusing to celebrate the Fourth of July until all slaves were emancipated.
- By Jill Hudson, NPR Newsletters Editor |
| | Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. |
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment