Be Intentional for Black History Month
Dear Food Systems Changemakers,
For centuries, racism and structural injustice plagued our society.
For those of us who haven’t experienced structural racism and haven’t had to cope with its pernicious effects on a daily basis, the murder of George Floyd and the crescendo of the Black Lives Matters movement in 2020 brought it to our homes in a way we could no longer ignore.
As an African who grew up in the US, I experienced aggression and micro-aggression every day.
I swallowed them. I managed them. I turned the other cheek because of the unwritten exchange that existed in my family: because of all of the trade-offs and sacrifices my parents made to get my siblings and me to the US, we would reward them with excellence in everything we did.
That meant ‘Ivy League’ schools, world renowned employers, and often being one of the only Black people in the room.
While immersed in these environments, none of these attacks escaped my notice. But, I tried not to let them rattle me or ruin who I was as a person, and often didn’t respond to them. Another family agreement: don’t be a troublesome immigrant or minority.
Then, came the ‘Great Pause’ of 2020.
While self-isolating in my native Ghana, my emotions went from numbness to sadness to anger and then rage. I started playing back in my head all of the aggressions and micro-aggressions I faced as an African in the food industry.
I reflected on the white supremacy culture on which ‘gastronomy’ is fundamentally built on.
The world of gastronomy still needs to have a white face from the old guard as the gatekeeper to first acknowledge an ‘ethnic cuisine’ before it is deemed good enough and worthy to join the landscape of international cuisine.
I also reflected on the many interactions I have had with food systems changemakers over the last six years.
While the desire to diversify food systems platforms, initiatives, and conferences is an important and necessary goal, sometimes that drive for diversity felt like tokenism.
I felt like the symbolic Black chef on stage, alongside and speaking to a sea of white people.
Often, my participation felt like a one-sided transaction. The organisers thought I should be pleased with the visibility they were providing me, but rarely if ever did they think it necessary to compensate me for my time, expertise or lost income for a small business.
Visibility, however, does not create the transformation I’m trying to create in my part of the world.
The opportunity to share my voice, my story, and my perspective does not undo the systemic destruction of the African food systems and foodways wreaked by slavery, colonialism, and the proliferation of cash crops at the expense of thriving indigenous and climate and soil appropriate crops and the disappearing knowledge of traditional recipes and techniques.
As a food systems change agent, I know so many wonderful and thoughtful changemakers working to change our food systems for the better. I know we are united in our desire to be part of the food revolution the world needs. You want to bring new voices to the table – and rightly so.
But first, we must deepen our understanding and grapple with the fundamental structural injustices that Western food systems rely on.
The food systems space is currently dominated by white players, while the global food system is not.
Until we address this at the international level, we perpetuate the inequality the system is built on, employ tokenism strategies, and fundamentally exploit our Brown and Black changemakers, allies, and advocates.
Bringing about this change will require all of us. How can you become a better partner and collaborator, especially as Black History Month is quickly approaching? Let me start with these simple ideas.
Connect and understand the challenges and vision of your partners. This allows you to see how you can support their work and build a mutually beneficial relationship.
Budget appropriately for your initiatives. It may be financial, or it may be leveraging your privilege to create an opportunity to enable the shift desired in their mission. For example, ask your speakers/attendees/partners what their greatest needs are, who they need connections to, what would make their engagement with you truly valuable and worthwhile, and figure out how to make one or two or three of those things happen.
Engage in a long term relationship, not just for an event. With the understanding of the structural issues they face, work together to see how your efforts can align for the coming years.
What does success look like? It looks like transformation beyond your ecosystem and into the ecosystem of others.
This change will not only affect your national food system, it will start to create changes in fragile and forgotten food systems, some of which have been heavily subsidizing the world. It is transformation that is not just sustainable but built on regenerative relationships.
Together, let’s engage in meaningful partnerships that create true change.
When I think of the changes necessary to create an equitable food system, I picture the collective effort of lifting an elephant that has fallen to the ground. It will take a hundred hands, all pushing together.
It will take each and every one of us to do it. Are you in?
Sincerely,
Selassie
[This is an adapted version of the piece I wrote for Food on the Edge: Lessons from Lockdown, published in 2021]