Resources
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Beyond the food that is served, what makes a gathering special or impactful?
In the chapter about family reunions, Reese suggests that they are spaces where “radical hospitality” is practiced. What does radical hospitality mean? Where else have you seen (or experienced) this?
In the chapter about gardens, Reese says that leaders have to “move at the speed of trust.” What does this mean? How might this concept help food justice organizations build relationships with communities they’d like to serve?
The mutual aid chapter touches on two politically sensitive subjects—climate-related disasters and war. Why do you think she chose these examples to illustrate the practice of mutual aid?
Anthropologists are used to immersing themselves in the lives of others, but they don’t always reveal much about their own. Why do you think Reese chose to share so much of her own experiences alongside the communities she got to know? How did that impact your reading of the book?
In what ways are repasts and reunions similar?
How is food justice different from emergency food provisioning? Why does distinguishing between the two matter?
What does reciprocity mean to you? Is it a necessary component of Black gatherings? Why or why not?
How did this book change or enrich your understanding of the concept of “food justice?”
If you were starting your own food justice organization, what lessons would you take from this book as you develop it?
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Carter, Christopher. The Spirit of Soul food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice (University of Illinois Press, 2021).
Dungy, Camille T. Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden (Simon and Schuster, 2023).
Penniman, Leah. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018).
Reese, Ashanté. Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C. (University of North Carolina Press, 2019).
Reynolds, Kristin, and Nevin Cohen. Beyond the Kale: Urban Agriculture and Social Justice
Activism in New York City (University of Georgia Press, 2016).
Smith, Bobby J., II. Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights
Movement (University of North Carolina Press, 2023).
White, Monica M. Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement (University of North Carolina Press, 2018).
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Miles, Tiya. All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake (Random House, 2022).
Smart-Grosvenor, Vertamae. Vibration Cooking: Or, the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl (University of Georgia Press, 2011).
Williams, Heather Andrea. Help Me to Find my People: The African American Search for Family Lost in Slavery (University of North Carolina Press, 2012).
Williams-Forson, Psyche A. Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America (University of North Carolina Press, 2022).
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Kropotkin, Peter. Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution (Extending Horizons Books, 1976, original essay collection published in English in 1902).
Spade, Dean. Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) (Verso Books, 2020).
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Magness, Perre. The Southern Sympathy Cookbook: Funeral Food with a Twist (Countryman Press, 2018).
National Council of Negro Women. The Black Family Reunion Cookbook (Simon & Schuster, 1991).
Taylor, Nicole A. Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations (Simon & Schuster, 2022).
Tipton-Martin, Toni. Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice: Cocktails from Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks (Clarkson Potter, 2023).
Turshen, Julia. Feed the Resistance: Recipes and Ideas for Getting Involved (Chronicle Books, 2017).