How soul food has evolved

Hi readers, we're holding an event in Brooklyn to celebrate Black History Month. Join us on Wed. Feb. 26 at Ethel's Club for conversations about Black hair, politics and more. Tickets are available here.

This week, we turn the spotlight on two of the videos we produced for Black History Month. We asked video producers Izzy Best and Shaquille Romblay about the videos they produced.

Food traditions hold symbols and meaning that serve as a historical roadmap. The story of soul food is complex because "soul" is associated with Black and "Southern" is considered white, and this racial divide is still embedded in its legacy today.

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Working on “Culture and Cuisine” taught me about the contribution of slaves to America’s culinary traditions and how those ingredients and flavors were transported across the U.S. by African-American migrants who left the South during the Great Migration.

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Interviewing Aaron Beener from Seasoned Vegan, I learned that if you look at what enslaved African-Americans ate, throughout the period of Emancipation, Reconstruction and well after, was a mostly vegetarian diet. Meat was neither an entrée or commonplace, so the idea of "vegan soul food" is not an oxymoron. African-Americans eating vegan is a homecoming to a dining diaspora that spans back to Africa brought to the U.S. by enslaved Blacks.

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Adele Selby from Biyou discussed with me how colonists introduced alcohol to the American food diaspora. Alcohol arrived to the colonies as a byproduct from European culture and was eventually assimilated into the American dining experience as we all know it today, whether it’s wine with dinner or having a cold beer. But drinking these beverages was definitely not practiced by enslaved African-Americans, who were not accustomed to having wine and spirits with their meals.

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The video was a unique opportunity to tell the story of how foods and recipes born from slavery are now largely recognized and celebrated as American comfort food classics that are being modernized by a new generation of Black restauranteurs who intend to uphold soul food’s rich tradition of flavor, sustenance and resilience. — Izzy Best, senior video producer

A Seat At The Table: Culture And Cuisine

Soul food has evolved in American food culture to become classic comfort food that's being reimagined from its difficult past.

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Growing up in a matriarchal household I’ve always been fascinated and excited by the greatness that is Black hair. We live in a society that aggressively polices hairstyles worn by Black people. However, I was taught at a very young age that our hair is our crown.

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When I first started working on “Black Hair Defined: Crown & Glory” I knew that I wanted to create a video that highlighted the vastness of Black hair. I understand that many individuals still see Blackness as a monolith. Therefore, it was important for me to highlight how the various regions we live, our different religions, tribes and cultures impact the unique ways we style our hair.

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While working on this video, I learned from the owner of the hair salon Ancestral Strands, Tamara Albertini, that African mothers would braid rice grains into their children's hair so they would have food if they were captured into slavery. Hairstylist Marlene Ford taught me that Bob Marley influenced the world not only through his music, but also simply by wearing dreadlocks. And while interviewing Orlando Palmer and Nilijah Williams, the owners of The Beauty Boutique, I learned that hair salons are often pillars in the Black community. Black hairstylists are counselors, educators, our friends and sometimes our brothers and sisters.

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"Black Hair Defined: Crown & Glory" is ultimately a celebration of Black hair. However, the video also serves as a reminder that Black hair is not only strong, but also resilient. — Shaquille Romblay, video producer

Celebrating Black Hair: Crown & Glory

Black people have been suspended from school and have been barred from employment due to their hair texture. However, Black hairstyles and salons continue to connect Black people across the African diaspora.

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