BTW beans are a side...
My parents grew up in west Tennessee during the Depression. From age 12, Dad had jobs, like selling tamales from a cart. The man makes a mean Memphis-style barbecue -- best I've ever had. Also used to make a great tamale and awesome chili.
I imagine from their stories that beans may have ended up an ingredient because of their low cost. My mother tells of living on navy beans or black-eyed peas, greens, cornbread and eggs ... chicken on Sunday. Some of that stuff is just plain good! My parents are 80 and 81 and still living independently, so those beans were alright!