Okayplayer: Soulless Food: How White-Washed Wellness Leaves Out Black Culture

There is a detrimental misconception about Black diasporic food, and it’s time for cultural awareness in a dangerously white industry.

AMIRA BARGER
September 12, 2023

For centuries, food has served as a means to connect people across various communities. There is no more common tradition among humanity than breaking bread. This universal experience tells the story of migration, spirituality, identity, and struggle – connecting people, places, and purpose through time. Though not exclusively so, that is perhaps nowhere more true than within the Black community. In many ways, food has become a cultural hallmark of what it means to be Black in America.

Documentaries like Netflix’s 2021 series High on the Hog highlight how the trans-Atlantic slave trade influenced American cuisine, tracing the roots of Black nutrition “from Africa to Texas.” Traditional foods like fried chicken, grits, greens, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, watermelon, peach cobbler and the like are heavily associated with Black America. These foods are a part of the fabric of the southern United States and beyond, often bridging the gap between lines of color.

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