The WAVES Brunch Centers Diverse Community, Transatlantic African History & Cuisine
The human stories of those who make today's communities of African ancestry in the U.S. emerged from the intertwined journeys of ancestors who found their lives forever transfigured by the transatlantic enslaved trade. During our events for National Day of Racial Healing, we held a WAVES 2020 Brunch at Studio Two Three inviting members of the nonprofit, creative arts, social justice, academic, and Initiatives of Change USA alumni communities to break bread and thoughtfully connect with one another.
This journey through the spice trade routes and cuisines of the African diaspora thread from West Africa (jollof rice and fried plantains) to North Africa (chicken tagine) to the Caribbean (chickpea curry and roti) and the U.S. among other regions such as East and Central Africa and South America. Prepared by Chef George Carroll and Chef Manny Baiden, the brunch buffet celebrated the forms of resistance that African ancestors took to ensure their liberation. We invited guests to savor and mull over the history behind all the dishes shared, honoring ancestors who were forcefully moved from the African continent as well as the lives of those who today migrate and form part of a constant Migration Flow of “joyful resistance” as visual artist Alfonso Perez Acosta shares in his work.
“We gather to honor the common roots of the African Diaspora. A Diaspora that came about as the result of deep greed and a thirst for exploitation that forever transfigured the lives of those who were forced as subjects of the transatlantic enslaved trade. It is their resilience, endless capacity of adaptation and resistance that led to their liberation. This is what we celebrate today. ”
This time together also gave us food for thought on the world marketplace and what we consume by exploring how global extractive economies are still hard at work (from bodies to tea, coffee, cocoa, cotton, gold, diamonds and uranium to name a few). This was also a key theme explored in Blitz “the Ambassador” Bazawule’s film, The Burial of Kojo. Questions were placed on each person's plate to stimulate table conversation about the history of Jollof Rice (West Africa) and the spices being tasted such as ginger, turmeric, saffron, scotch bonnet, coconut oil, and ancho chili powder.
We considered the routes these spices - and more importantly, the human labor that cultivated them - endured to reach us over time. Participants were also asked to reflect on what they were tasting in connection to a detailed geographical map showing transatlantic trade routes.
We are grateful to all those who took part in the WAVES 2020 brunch including special guests BLITZ the AMBASSADOR, Alfonso Perez Acosta, and Mark de Clive-Lowe as well as alumni of the Narrative Change Collaborative, Community Trustbuilding Fellowship and Caux Scholars Program Switzerland and Asia Plateau. The WAVES Brunch represents our building of conscious communities together, honoring each other’s past and what connects us. This time together allowed us to celebrate the courageous people who everyday generate bridges across cultures and divides and create platforms of inner, communal and global transformation.
Images: Amanda Barnes