As we close out the 100th Black History Month, I find myself wondering why I’m just now learning about the legendary Lucille B. Smith.
I first learned of Smith in December 2025 from a Facebook message including a short clip highlighting her career as a Black culinary giant and inventor. What the video did not reveal was that Smith built her culinary empire in my hometown in the Historic Southside neighborhood, just blocks from where my grandmother once lived.
I was shocked to also learn that Smith expanded her empire at my alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black university near Houston. She established one of the nation’s first college-level commercial cooking and baking departments…