1. How and when did you get hooked on history?
When I was a child, my parents purchased a set of the World Book encyclopedia. I read the entire thing, but I was really captivated by an entry on “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” That got me hooked on history.
2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?
My college degree was in international relations and that involved a fair amount of history. Many people now identify me, and identify with me, because of my love of history.
3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?
I’ve always been fascinated by how things came to be. History is now a very important part of my life because I’m sharing history through food writing. I believe that it is a great way to connect with other people. By pursuing this path, I’ve now written three books: one on soul food history, one on African American presidential chefs, and another on African American barbecue. I hope to write more!
4. Why is studying/knowing history important?
History helps one understand other people and cultures. My hope is that we can bring people in the world together to create a multicultural and shared future. That can only happen by learning where mistakes were made in the past so that we can avoid doing the same thing again. We can also look to past successes to inspire us to make the world a better place.
5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?
Oooo, that’s hard to pinpoint. I’m most interested in ancient civilizations, especially how they created interesting things and structures with such precision and without the technology that we have today. That takes me back to some of the things that I saw in the World Book encyclopedia entry on the ancient wonders of the world.
6. How did you become a soul food historian?
The short answer is “unemployment.” I was between jobs for an unexpected amount of time and that gave me more time to read. I came across a book by John Egerton titled Southern Food: At Home, On the Road, In History. In that book, he wrote that the tribute to black achievement in American cookery has yet to be written. I thought that was interesting, but since I read the book fourteen years after its publication, I figured that someone had already done that work. I emailed Egerton and he informed me that the challenge remains and encouraged me to add my voice to the discussion. That’s what started me on my journey to becoming a soul food historian. So with no qualifications at all except for eating a lot of soul food and cooking it some, I began researching and writing my first book.
7. Soul food and southern cooking seem to be enjoying a moment. What are your thoughts about the status of soul food in America today? Is it trendy or here to stay? Is it getting enough culinary and historical attention? Are there facets that need to be explored?
I feel that soul food is still underappreciated. Southern food is definitely trendy, but unfortunately, the Black contributions to that cuisine don’t get adequate attention. Within the Black community, soul food gets a mixed reaction. Many love the cuisine, understand and appreciate its historical significance. My work is about showing how soul food brings together the culinary ingredients, techniques, and traditions of West Africa, Western Europe, and the Americas. There are many others who despise it. They say that soul food is unworthy of celebration because it’s slave food and leads to poor health outcomes. My work, and that of others, shows that such thinking is very myopic. We need more scholarship to reveal soul food’s complexity. We also need more sophisticated analysis of the health outcomes issue, one that takes into account what African Americans are actually eating and environmental factors. Soul food needs more love!
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