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.
"Easy," by Ed Madden
Take the Woods Ballistic! Black Belt Nightlife
Migration: Making Meals and Homes in Alabama
Alabama Hunters: Pretty Don't Tree No Coon
Cooking Up a Living in Alabama
"Pesach in Blacksburg," by Erika Meitner
"Grace," by Jake Adam York
The Mithai Life of North Carolina
The Southern Genius of the Cuban Sandwich
Syrian-ish: Damascus Meets Little Rock at Layla's Restaurant
Ethiopian Atlanta: A Tale of Three Restaurants
Tempeh Brings Indonesia to Houston
"Drill," by Atsuro Riley
"Because Men Do What They Want to Do," by TJ Jarrett
The Holy Trinity: From the Bayou to the Bay
Puerto Rican Pasteles: Unwrapping the Diaspora
Horchata: An Ancient Drink that Crossed the Globe
A Pea for the Past, A Pea for the Future
The Deli Diaspora
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Gastropod
Dinner SOS by Bon Appétit
The Clever Cookstr’s Quick and Dirty Tips from the World’s Best Cooks
Anne of Green Gables
The Art of War
The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters
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