Blackbelt Voices Blackbelt Media LLC

We're back in the saddle! In this episode, Adena and Kara discuss the relaunch of Blackbelt Voices as a platform for authentic storytelling. After completing a Social Impact Storytelling program at Georgetown University and a fellowship with Solutions Journalism Network, Adena has come back with fresh ideas of how Blackbelt Voices can emphasize the importance of authenticity, belonging, and connection in storytelling.

Adena and Kara talk to writer and self-proclaimed Wypipologist Michael Harriot. The South Carolina native is well known for his wit, cultural commentary, and gift of mixing humor and historical context. In this episode, Michael breaks down the discipline of Wypipology, Black humor, and the story behind his coining of the phrase "invited to the cookout." (Yes, he's the one who came up with it.)

La'Twana Scott, the owner of Sweet Mama T's in El Dorado, Arkansas, developed a reputation as a great cook at an early age. The El Dorado native enjoys cooking for people and got her start from helping her mom as a child.

On episode 37 of Blackbelt Voices, we continue our conversation about Black food, this time focusing on barbecue. Guest Michael “Mike D” De Los Santos of North Carolina walks us through his journey of becoming an expert on the topic, which eventually led to him creating his own sauces and rubs and selling through his company, Mike D’s.

Mike’s journey to becoming a small business owner has uplifting and heartbreaking turns, including the loss of his infant son Aaron, which he wrote about in a book he authored called “My Heart Warrior: Living With HLHS Through A Father’s Eyes.”

Mike and his business was also featured on Discovery Channel’s “I Quit.”

In episode 36 of Blackbelt Voices, Adena and Kara continue the conversation about Black food culture – this time from an agricultural angle. Our guest, Gerald Harris, along with his partners Derek Beasley and Gabrielle E.W. Carter (who was featured in the Netflix series High on the Hog as well as the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal) started Tall Grass Food Box, a community-supported agricultural model (CSA).

We’re starting a new series of episodes about Black Food Culture, which is a very broad topic to tackle. It can be fun, but it is also deep. Ashante Reese, Ph.D. is a writer, teacher, and anthropologist who works at the intersection of critical food studies and Black geographies. Her latest book, “Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice, enters two conversations at once: one that concerns the persistent threats to Black life and another that concerns problems produced by the increasingly global and corporatized food system.”