Prof. Jessica Carey: Black History Month and the Politics of Food

Food movements and foodways embody —literally! — multiple strains of culture: ethics, politics, affects, pleasures, and identities. In belated honour of Black History Month, here are links to the work of two authors that I have followed for the past few years and taught in food politics courses. This is clearly not a complete resource list: These are just two of the many writers and activists doing invaluable work with black histories (and presents) of food — let me know, for instance, if you come across such resources that work from a Canadian point of view. (Sometimes I fall into being quite the Americanist.)

jessica.carey[at]sheridancollege.ca

–Michael W. Twitty is a culinary historian who works to unravel and bring to light the complex threads of African America’s history and cultural politics of food. His blog is here: http://afroculinaria.com/.

–A. Breeze Harper navigates and theorizes the sometimes-fraught intersection of vegan ethics, feminism, and anti-racism. Her anthology on these issues is Sistah Vegan, and her website is here: http://www.sistahvegan.com/.