Food traditions hold symbols and meaning that serve as a historical roadmap. The story of soul food is complex because "soul" is associated with Black and "Southern" is considered white, and this racial divide is still embedded in its legacy today.
Working on “Culture and Cuisine” taught me about the contribution of slaves to America’s culinary traditions and how those ingredients and flavors were transported across the U.S. by African-American migrants who left the South during the Great Migration.
Interviewing Aaron Beener from Seasoned Vegan, I learned that if you look at what enslaved African-Americans ate, throughout the period of Emancipation, Reconstruction and well after, was a mostly vegetarian diet. Meat was neither an entrée or commonplace, so the idea of "vegan soul food" is not an oxymoron. African-Americans eating vegan is a homecoming to a dining diaspora that spans back to Africa brought to the U.S. by enslaved Blacks.
Adele Selby from Biyou discussed with me how colonists introduced alcohol to the American food diaspora. Alcohol arrived to the colonies as a byproduct from European culture and was eventually assimilated into the American dining experience as we all know it today, whether it’s wine with dinner or having a cold beer. But drinking these beverages was definitely not practiced by enslaved African-Americans, who were not accustomed to having wine and spirits with their meals.
The video was a unique opportunity to tell the story of how foods and recipes born from slavery are now largely recognized and celebrated as American comfort food classics that are being modernized by a new generation of Black restauranteurs who intend to uphold soul food’s rich tradition of flavor, sustenance and resilience. — Izzy Best, senior video producer | 
