Alabama’s Black Belt stretches in a strip 25 miles wide across the center of the state. Named for the rich soil that enabled cotton to flourish, the Black Belt was once Alabama’s most prosperous and politically powerful region. It held most of the state's enslaved people, and African Americans still comprise the majority of the Black Belt population today.
"New Stewards on Old Homesteads in Alabama" provides a contemporary look at Black Belt land and its stewards: the most recent chapter in a long history of transformation. Younger generations are now returning to family land in the Black Belt, often to find it reclaimed by wilderness. We learn how they strive to make a living from the land and the challenges faced in a rural food system. We consider opposing notions of agricultural life: one that inflicts trauma, and one that heals from it. Andrew Williams of the Deep South Food Alliance in Linden and Yawah Awolowo of Mahala Farms in Cuba are our guides.
This batch of Gravy is reported and produced by Jackie Clay, Executive Director at the Coleman Center for the Arts in rural Sumter County, AL; Matt Whitson, production audio mixer and video editor at Alabama Public Television in Birmingham, AL; and Emily Blejwas, Executive Director of the Alabama Folklife Association. The Southern Foodways Alliance is the organization behind the podcast.
North Carolina Pottery from Clay to Kiln
A Shrimp Boat Blessing with no Shrimp Boats
Annie Fisher’s Beaten Biscuits Meant Business
Tasting Kentucky in Tiananmen
A Tale of Two Laredos
A Texas Cabrito Communion
Blessed Egg Rolls and the Evolution of Rockport, Texas
A Taste of Sicily on Galveston Bay
Noodling with the Texas Wends
The Gulf’s Last Generation of Black Oystermen?
Buying and Selling Food in the Black South
In Houston, Three Tastes of West Africa
The Joyful Black History of the Sweet Potato
Annie Laura Squalls and Her Mile High Pie
SFA Symposium and Spoonbread
A Symposium Memory
Rib Tips, Hot Links, and the Mississippi Roots of Chicago Barbecue
Father, Son, Fire: A Chat with Howard and Harrison Conyers
Southern Barbecue Goes West
Brisket Pho, a Viet Tex Story
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Gastropod
Dinner SOS by Bon Appétit
The Clever Cookstr’s Quick and Dirty Tips from the World’s Best Cooks
The Story of Mankind
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters
The Menu