Entry · catalog no. 8905
bean pie
/ /bin paɪ/ /BEEN pie
noun · Chicago · 1970s
✓ Verified
1.
A sweet spiced custard pie made from mashed navy beans, resembling sweet potato pie, associated with the Nation of Islam and sold by its members, historically on street corners, as a fundraiser.
“After the Friday meeting, the brother in the bow tie sold bean pies out of a cooler on the corner.”
2.
By extension, a sign of Black Muslim community presence and self-reliance in northern cities.
“You could tell you were in the right neighborhood when you smelled bean pie and incense.”
Origin & Attribution
The bean pie grew out of the dietary teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the Chicago-based leader of the Nation of Islam, whose 1967 book How to Eat to Live promoted navy beans as a healthful food. Members developed a navy bean pie that resembled the sweet potato pie Black families already knew, and sold it on street corners from the early 1970s as a movement fundraiser. It became a recognized figure of Black urban life from Chicago to Philadelphia. It is often mistaken for a general Southern dish; it is a product of the northern Black Muslim community.
1967
Elijah Muhammad publishes How to Eat to Live
1970
Nation of Islam members sell bean pies on street corners (early 1970s)
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The Midwest
Chicago · 1970s
Spoken by
Nation of Islam members and Black communities in northern cities
$BEANPIThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady59 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
35/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1967
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@chitown
Chicago, IL
@detlex
Detroit, MI
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Citations & Sources
■
Elijah Muhammad, How to Eat to Live (Chicago, 1967)
book
■
Saveur, 'A Goodly Slice' (2019)
web
■
+ Cite a sourceTaste, 'The Radical Pie That Fueled a Nation'
web
See also