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Originally published in 1904, Commanders of the Dining Room
features brief biographies of more than fifty African American head
waiters and front-of-house restaurant staff, giving insight into
the traditions and personalities that shaped these culinary
institutions. Maccannon, himself an African American and a former
head waiter, also offers a brief portrait of the Head and Second
Waiters' National Benefit Association (a union for the industry and
for African American hotel workers). Though the HSWNBA was formed
in Chicago and held conventions there, many of the waiters profiled
in this book hail from southern restaurants. Maccannon published
Commanders to increase the visibility and stature of Black waiters;
to assure employers that they could count on members of the HSWNBA
to thoroughly know their business; to attest to their commitment to
be dependable workers; and to showcase model African American
manhood. In the vein of Booker T. Washington, Commanders proclaimed
to young waiters that they could achieve success if they educated
themselves, worked hard, and joined an association like the HSWNBA.
In Commanders they could see head waiters, at the pinnacle of the
profession, who had started out at the bottom and worked their way
to the top, overcoming a variety of challenges along the way.
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