DOI 10.60531/INSIGHTOUT.2023.1.3| WILLIAMS-FORSON: SEEKING THE ABSENT POTENTIAL_ INSIGHTOUT 1(2023) 51rationale for their inclusion and, by extension, howthey serve to offer juxtaposing meanings and interpretations.Under this banner of“Freedom”, I have already discussed the runaway ad for Marcus and explainedthat some enslaved chose escape over extra privileges like making money, regulated movement off theplantation or farm, and even a small convenience likerazor shaving, an extra privilege afforded someonewith Hercules’ stature among the other enslavedmen. We included this tool along with the grease skillet and a canister because Hercules was“as highlyaccomplished a proficient in the culinary art as couldbe found in the United States”. As a result, he had therole of overseeing Washington’s kitchens. He wouldhave mastered hearth cooking, knowing the properamount of oil and lard to fry foods, and how to wieldlong-handled skillets to deftly maneuver hot panswhile roasting meats. The grease skillet is a utensilplaced below the spit to catch drippings from piecesof meat roasting on the hearth, including a turkey,and the canisters were used to contain flour, rice,corn meal, and other dry goods to keep out insectsand vermin. They had a tight-fitting lid, making themdifficult to access, and were closely guarded and carefully rationed by Martha Washington or anotherperson in charge of the house servants, quite possibly Hercules.king, complete with a sugar drop, an expensive commodity. Some of the enslaved even knew of the valueof this performance and would earn enough moneyto purchase teacups and a teapot or kettle for themselves. Though their tea was taken without sugar, theperformance and the implements alone would haveelevated their status among those in the enslavedcommunity.The evidence of such sweetness, however, often belied the actual tensions that existed in the diningroom. Amidst the finery of the china and other teataking trappings was the dire reality that the enslaved had no such time for extended leisure. Whilethe Washingtons relaxed, the slaves’ day continued.They could not eat until the dining room table hadbeen cleared and cleaned, the teatime meal prepared and the tea brewed, the wood chopped for thenext day, the dough kneaded, and the hoecake batter ready for breakfast the next morning. Thus, evenamidst the beauty of the table setting lay a stark reality for those who served and were rendered invisibleby their race and social status. Nonetheless, manyenslaved people used their perceived indistinctnessto their own advantage. While tending to the comforts of the plantation family, enslaved women, men,and children simultaneously studied these habits ofdining and leisure both to avoid punishment and tobe aware of opportunities for them to escape.A fine china sugar bowl and saucer were included because, for one, they were among the assets availableto us. As a result, I had to conceive of a story and tiethem to the theme of the exhibition and, more importantly, to the notion of Black freedom. Given thatGeorge Washington followed rules of polite societyand behaviour at his dinner table, large meals wouldfeature desserts of fruits, nuts, and sweet wines. Later, the Washingtons would enjoy a light repast ofbread and leftover meat known as“tea”, which wasviewed as a necessary social performance amongthe social elite and often included actual tea drinOh Freedom!During enslavement, food and freedom were oftenintertwined. Not only did some slaves use moments ofdistraction during celebrations to escape, but manymore actually used food as a means of resistance.The forced labour of slavery affected everythingfrom work routines to food distribution, preparation,and consumption. The enslaved often registered rebellion by feigning illness, breaking tools, or findingother ways of sabotaging production. In the kitchen,food could be slowly cooked, burned, and even filledwith poison. This kind of culinary maneuvering is a
