Dr. Yohuru Williams, professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, recently appeared on The Grio discussing the influence of African Americans on the foods that built America.
Williams: Pork, chitlins. Today, we know about the complex legacy of these foods and how they have contributed to a range of health problems in our society, but they are comfort foods, too, because they were about family bonding.
African Americans, African culture, black culture have had a huge influence on food and we don't think about it very often but the truth is that if you go back and look at old movies or old magazines, the people who were preparing the food were black. When we think about some things like cookouts, for example, barbecues and these kinds of large-scale sharing of food, community is a big part of that. There are these rich traditions that we associate with this kind of celebratory moment where people share a meal but it is much more than just a meal.
For me, “The Food That Built America” (the History Channel docu-series) is a perfect example of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (because) it's an immigrant story; It's the story of people of color and how they've contributed so much to the food scene in this country and how it would be so different if we weren't a diverse nation that didn't celebrate diversity as a strength.
