Your Nappy Ass Roots: Lamar David Little

Born in 1928, Lamar David Little worked as a welder in Fort Wayne, IN.  A fan of tasty snacks, he, like many black people both past and present, was a fan of eating the nutty kernels inside of sunflower seeds.  Being a man of diverse taste, however, he soon tired of the lack of flavor options and quit his job to spend as much time as possible creating new flavors for the seeds.  He tried to write suitable formulas for all his favorite flavors, and after his pig foot, watermelon, and malt liquor recipes didn’t work, he settled on BBQ in 1982.  It remains a popular treat for black America to this day; many believe that pouring a handful and shaking the seeds around enhances the flavor.

Brokey McPoverty

Brokey McPoverty, aka Tracy Clayton, is a writer and humorist from Louisville, KY. She currently writes for BuzzFeed and lives in Brooklyn. Follow her on Twitter.

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  • When I was a kid in Shani’s hometown, there was a family in the neighborhood that gave out huge bags of David’s sunflower seeds every year on Halloween. Rumor was the dad worked for the company. Maybe he was Lamar. Most popular house in the block, and the streets would be covered with shells for days.

  • LaJane Galt

    I can tell when there are Latrarians in the neighborhood on the verge of doing hoodrat stuff by the shells on the ground.

    Some lil’ bastards spit shells on cars on the parking lot one day. I made another kid pick them up on the Metro.

    If I ever find this guys grave, I will spit shells on it.