Black Funerals And The Importance Of The Repast Tradition

funeral of nineteen year old black saw mill worker
Via Wikimedia Commons
Briona Lamback
February 7, 2023

Grief is complicated.  Unfortunately, many of our people know it all too well because systemic racism continues claiming the lives of our loved ones. 

But there is something unique about how we grieve.

Black homegoings are special. Beyond our grief, it’s customary to treat funeral services as a celebration of life. One way we’ve always done that is with the repast tradition.

Food is a necessary part of our mourning, a rite of passage. Funerals are emotionally taxing, and our funeral foods, from turkeys and hams to cakes and pies, wrap us in community care during a time when it’s most needed. 

Enslaved folks often hosted elaborately planned funerals and repasts, a continuation of West African tradition.

The reality of living in an anti-Black world is that we are often gone too soon. From systemic racism in healthcare to police brutality, we grieve too often and too early in life.

Our traditions are sacred. Let’s continue holding up each other in our everyday lives as we do when we say goodbye to loved ones.

We have a quick favor to ask:

PushBlack is a nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:

  • We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK NEWS & HISTORY STORIES every year.
  • We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
  • We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.

And as a nonprofit, we rely on small donations from subscribers like you.

With as little as $5 a month, you can help PushBlack raise up Black voices. It only takes a minute, so will you please ?

Share This Article: