NO RECIPE AGAIN THIS WEEK. With so much going on everywhere, we’re just not ready to write about sautéing and braising and such. Events continue to roller coaster, even now. But along with the pervasive anger, fear and hopelessness, there are true signs of hope. Signs change may be finally coming.
People are saying we stand with you. Saying Black lives matter. And looking for ways to put actions behind their words. Early on, Marion and I were donating to food drives, and to bail funds for protesters in Minneapolis, Detroit and Chicago. Now we’re seeking new ways to get involved and help. Here are some notable ways we’ve come across.
First and most exhaustive, the Strategist, a sister publication to New York magazine, provides 115 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color. Normally an “obsessively researched online shopping and product discovery guide,” the Strategist was just as obsessive in vetting these places to donate and in organizing them. They’ve broken up “the various ways to donate by how recipients promise to use any money received, whether that’s to post bail/bonds for demonstrators arrested at protests, to purchase protective equipment to protesters on the front lines, to invest in rebuilding black communities where protests have occurred, or to invest in community enrichment programs for black and brown youth.”
Next, because Blue kitchen is, after all, about food and cooking, we loved Food52’s 21 Black-Authored Cookbooks to Add to Your Shelf. In addition to overviews of (and links to) the cookbooks, they include a nationwide list of Black-owned bookstores to find these cookbooks. This resource is just one example of Food52’s commitment to “further anti-racism work in our community.”
Epicurious, another noted food-based site and online community, shared a list of Black-owned kitchen, dining, and home brands they love—30 Black-Owned Businesses to Support This Month and Beyond. And stating that, “Violence and injustice meet Black people in every sector of life; the food and cooking arenas are not exempt,” they also shared A Reading List For Learning About Anti-Black Racism and Food.
Just as important—maybe more important—we are trying to listen and truly learn. This is how real change begins and takes hold.
We hope you find some of these resources helpful. We’d love to hear what you’re doing, what you’re thinking about, what’s moving you. Thanks for stopping by. Next week, we hope to be talking about food again.
Good post. It really does seem like something really fundamental has changed, doesn’t it? Haven’t seen public opinion shift this quickly and decidedly for a long, long time. So long overdue — good thing that change looks to be finally arriving.
Thank you Terry. You are a good man.
It feels odd to me to post about what I’m cooking, or about the kittens I’m fostering when there’s so much serious stuff going on, so much at stake.
Thanks for the lists!
Thanks, everyone. Eeka, you’re right about so much going on and so much at stake. That’s why we’ve stepped back the past couple of weeks. But I think we will try to get back to food next week.