I am a Black woman living, thriving, and loving in Philadelphia. How we prepare our food has a history, and that history is often long and can be challenging to decipher. We live in a world where food often loses its place of origin. Many supermarkets carry ripe fruit and vegetables all year round. However, these easily accessible foods have not always been the case. Foods often exist at a particular time and in a certain place. What we eat and how we prepare it represents who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. Our culinary heritage provides us with nutrition rich in comfort and belonging.

The Great Migration lasted about 60 years, roughly from 1910–1970, marking one of the greatest migrations of people in the history of the United States. During that time about six million Black Southerners relocated across the country in search of safety, job opportunities, and a better life. This mass movement of people affected American culture as a whole and more specifically, Black culture.

The Free Library of Philadelphia’s Culinary Literacy Center and the University of Mississippi Libraries will host Sugar Don’t Go On Grits: An Archival Look at the Great Migration’s Effect on How We Eat on August 29 at 2 p.m. As Black Americans, we often define ourselves and our culture by how sweet our cornbread is and how creamy orange our mac and cheese is. This panel is intended to create a conversational space dedicated to retracing the divergent pathways of the African American culinary tradition. Leaning on archival materials, this panel will highlight how Black people altered recipes in different areas of the United States due to the availability of ingredients and to match local tastes, while reflecting on how these changes have led us to debate the cultural appropriateness of foods we eat. Food and culture historian Donna Battle Pierce and Philadelphia’s own restaurateur and food expert Valerie Erwin of the Geechee Girl Cafe will be joining the conversation. Register for the event online.

The Free Library of Philadelphia has resources to help Black Philadelphians trace their own culinary traditions. Many resources used to support the discussion at the Sugar Don’t Go on Grits panel were found in our ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Black Newspaper Collection. This collection contains digitized historical Black newspapers from across the country. Free Library of Philadelphia cardholders can access recipes from the Philadelphia Tribune, The Chicago Defender, The Baltimore Afro-American, and many other newspapers to research the evolution of Black food over the course of the Great Migration. Our Science and Wellness department at Parkway Central offers a large cookbook collection dedicated to the late Julie Dannenbaum that contains regional recipes from the United States and around the world. Patrons can also access cookbooks digitally through Overdrive and its Libby mobile app and Freading. To learn more about your own family history, library card holders can access our Genealogy resource page.

Want to learn more about historical Black foodways? The Culinary Literacy Center recommends the following resources available at the Free Library:

• Black Food: Stories, Art and Recipes From Across the African Diaspora by Bryant Terry (2021)
• Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time by Adrian Miller (2013)
• High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Jessica Harris (2011)
• Hog & Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America by Frederick Douglass Opie (2008)

To learn more about The Great Migration:

• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (2010)
• Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream by Blair Imani (2020)