Episode 212: The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African-American Cookbooks

Women of African descent have contributed to America’s food culture for centuries, but their rich and varied involvement is still overshadowed by the demeaning stereotype of an illiterate “Aunt Jemima” who cooked mostly by natural instinct. Toni Tipton-Martin describes her years of research amassing one of the world’s largest private collections of cookbooks published by African American authors, looking for evidence of their impact on American food, families, and communities and for ways we might use that knowledge to inspire community wellness of every kind.

“This idea that there is a ‘Jemima Code,’ for me it’s this idea that actions, thoughts, behaviors, opinions, are all crafted and generated out of this trademark image that was based on a myth.” [3:45] –Toni Tipton-Martin on A Taste of the Past

 

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