When he moved to the city in 2022, the number of Black-owned restaurants in Baltimore surprised Minkah Makalani, director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Africana Studies.
In his quest to learn more about the history of Baltimore's Black food culture, Makalani talked with notable figures in the city's Black food scene, such as activist and Black Classic Press founder W. Paul Coates, the father of journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Toni Tipton-Martin, cookbook author and editor of Cook's Country magazine. Those discussions were the catalyst for Makalani to organize "A Taste of Black Freedom: Black Foodways in Baltimore and Beyond," a symposium that will explore the history and politics of Black food in Baltimore.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place Thursday, Feb. 9 from 2-4 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 10 from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Scott-Bates Commons on the university's Homewood campus.
"What Black people are producing here in Baltimore around Black foodways deserves attention, whether its restaurants and recipes, or political action to address food inequality in the city," Makalani said. "I think this symposium provides a unique opportunity to capture what's going on in the city while also providing general recognition of the critical importance of foodways for Black people and Black life historically in the United States."
