This book contends with a much wider range of issues than I anticipated when I began reading. It’s a powerful micro-history of Deanwood and how its residents engage with food, but it also speaks to anti-Black systemic oppression on a national level. The author tied food access, ideas of self-reliance, and refusal patterns to both the big picture and the small, everyday parts of life that shape the Black experience in America. By framing her argument from Black people’s perspectives, she reinforces the agency of Black people in choosing their foodways, despite structural racism. Inequality and personal agency can and do coexist, and food is a powerful way to demonstrate this relationship.
Week 6: Black Food Geographies
