肉肉传媒

KENNESAW, Ga. | Jan 27, 2023

For renowned chef, culinary historian and writer Michael Twitty, living at the intersection of multiple identities provides an opportunity to educate - and his medium is food.

The James Beard Award-winning author and longtime Hebrew educator spoke Thursday on living as a queer, African American Jew during the 10th anniversary of 肉肉传媒鈥檚 Paul and Beverly Radow Lecture Series on Jewish Life. His message to each person in the crowd at KSU鈥檚 Stillwell Theatre was to live fully in their identity and to learn about their cross-sections of lineage and culture.

鈥淚 belong to all different kinds of peoples and intersections, and that鈥檚 not weird because everybody in this audience does. Nobody is free from intersectionality,鈥� Twitty said. 鈥淪omeone has to talk about the ideas behind the import of food, and not just the food itself. The food is a vehicle to understanding each other.鈥�

Twitty noted how heavily influenced food of the American South is by its history of slavery, and how family recipes or food preferences can often be traced back to a combination of ethnic roots. He also stressed the importance of not putting people into boxes, no matter their race, gender, religion, culture or combination thereof. That, he said, is how the history of communities with unique cultures are lost.

鈥淚f you have a story, and you think it鈥檚 a niche story, record it - document it. Don鈥檛 let people say years from now, 鈥楾hey didn鈥檛 exist,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭ell these stories. Make sure the world understands. Talk about what it means to have a Nigerian daddy and a momma from Georgia, because that鈥檚 complicated.鈥�

Norman Radow 鈥� historian, longtime KSU benefactor and namesake of the 鈥� praised Twitty鈥檚 lecture as representative of many different perspectives of the American experience.

鈥淢ichael is such a unique individual, and I think he did a great job of entertaining and making his lecture so personal,鈥� Radow said. 

Radow College Dean Katie Kaukinen agreed, noting Twitty鈥檚 ability to use food as a metaphor and medium for cross-cultural understanding and appreciation. She noted his example of the variety of ingredients that may appear in a potato salad depending on a family鈥檚 cultural and ethnic background and how different that same dish may turn out if prepared by a diverse group.

鈥淚 think the takeaway is we鈥檙e not one or the other. People can鈥檛 be put into boxes in terms of who they are as human beings,鈥� Kaukinen said. 鈥淢ichael reminds us that we have to own all those spaces to which we belong, but we also have to be forceful in asking others to respect those spaces.鈥�

Kaukinen also credited Twitty with broadening the understanding of what historians and those in the humanities do. Though two people might be neighbors in Georgia, she said, studying the food they eat could tell vastly different stories about those individuals.

鈥淚 think the way he articulated that was profound,鈥� she said.

Twitty is the first African American to win the James Beard Award for best writing and Book of the Year in 2018 for 鈥淭he Cooking Gene: A Journey through African American Culinary History of the Old South.鈥� 鈥淭he Cooking Gene鈥� was released in 2017 and traced his ancestry through food from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom. His follow-up book, 鈥淜osherSoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew,鈥� was published in 2022 and was named the national Jewish Book of the Year by the Jewish Book Council.

Twitty鈥檚 media appearances include Netflix鈥檚 鈥淗igh on the Hog,鈥� 鈥淏izarre Foods America,鈥� with Andrew Zimmern, 鈥淢any Rivers to Cross,鈥� with Henry Louis Gates, and 鈥淭aste the Nation,鈥� with Padma Lakshmi from 鈥淭op Chef.鈥� He also teaches a course entitled, 鈥淭racing Your Roots through Food,鈥� which can be found on MasterClass, YouTube, ClassCentral and other sites.

鈥� By Thomas Hartwell
Photos by Darnell Wilburn

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This lecture was supported by Georgia Humanities, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, through funding from the Georgia General Assembly.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 肉肉传媒 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. 肉肉传媒 State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 肉肉传媒 State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.