Juneteenth is the oldest known nationally celebrated event commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” However, it was not until June 19th, 1865, two years later, when the U.S. Army took possession of Galveston Island in Texas and began a war against defenders of slavery that the enslaved people in Galveston, could begin their journey towards freedom.
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Food for the Body, Food for the Soul
June 18, 19 & 20, 2020
Live Streamed Cooking Demonstration, African Drumming Live Streamed from the Portsmouth African Burying Ground, A Virtual Concert, & A Virtual Community Dialogue Featuring Special Guest Adrian Miller
There is more of a connection between food, culture, and our soul than we may think.
On a small scale, food ties us to memories of our childhood and our families. On a larger scale, food connects us to an important part of our culture and the expression of our cultural identity.
With a focus on the history of Soul Food and Soul Music, this year’s Juneteenth Celebration offers a series of engaging, informative, and entertaining programs that examine the connection between food and historical events in the Black community. Programs also highlight how those involved in the creation of certain dishes weave together a narrative of Black culture, lifestyle, values, and beliefs that shapes how Americans eat.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, June 18, 3:00 PM | Zoom & Facebook Live
Cooking with Selina: A Soul Food Cooking Show
African American cuisine, Soul Food, is one of the most popular and recognizable types of cooking in the United States. It was birthed in the deep South from a history of enslavement, relentless racism, and ingenuity. Forced to live off scraps from their enslavers, enslaved Africans blended African and American cultural traditions, techniques, and certain ingredients to create incredibly delicious and culturally unique dishes.
Join Selina Choate in her home kitchen for this live demonstration to see how she puts her own twist on an authentic Soul Food meal.
Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe | Fried Chicken Recipe | Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey Wings
Pre-Show Preparation Instructions
Friday, June 19, 1:00 PM | Zoom & Facebook Live
Music to Celebrate Our Ancestors: Drumming, Dance & Song
Music: It feeds the soul, fuels the body, inspires artists, influences politics, and impacts just about every part of our lives.
For this commemorative event, live streaming from the Portsmouth African Burying Ground, members of the African drumming and dance group Akwaaba Ensemble and Rev. Robert Thompson will honor the ancestors who survived the Middle Passage with traditional songs and dance.
Friday, June 19, 7:00 PM | Zoom & Facebook Live Performance
Songs that Feed the Soul: A Concert
The daily struggles, triumphs, hopes and failures of generations of Black Americans are carefully and methodically recorded not only in the pages of history textbooks but also by the music and lyrics of the era.
This virtual concert, features performances from members of the Negro Ensemble Company New York including Burgundy Williams, Joy Brown, Michael Andreaus, Sean Mason, & special guest N'Kenge, will feature songs that defined certain eras in African American history. From the coded messages of subversion implicit in traditional Spirituals to the stirring soulful songs emanating from Motown, this musical montage will have you testifying to the impact of Black music on America and the world.
Saturday, June 20, 10:00 AM | Zoom Panel
The Diet of Our Ancestors: What History & Science Reveals
During the Transatlantic Slave Trade, enslaved Africans were given meager food rations that were low in quality and nutritional value. With these rations, enslaved people preserved African food traditions and adapted traditional recipes with the resources available. Over time, these recipes and techniques have become the Soul Food dishes we are familiar with today. This food genre, now associated with comfort and decadence, was born out of struggle and survival.
This panel of scholars, featuring special guest Adrian Miller, will explore how history, science, and food connect major events in African American history and define Black culinary traditions. The panel will also share what dental metrics and plaque analysis can tell us about New Hampshire’s early African Americans.
Presenters: Adrian Miller, Amy Michael, Kendra Smith
Moderator: Shari Robinson
Biographies
Selina Choate is the Associate Director for the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at UNH. She is also the owner of S. F. C. Catering Company that specializes in soul food with a twist.
Theo Martey & The Akwaaba Ensemble’s energetic and engaging performances are a reflection of their name, which means ‘welcome’ in the Twi language of the Ashanti tribe of Ghana. At each performance, the Ensemble brings Highlife music, West African drumming and dance to vivid life. Theo was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, West Africa. He is a songwriter, recording artist, producer, performer, teaching artist, and recipient of the 2019 Governor’s Arts Award for Arts Education. He was featured on New Hampshire Magazine "Who’s It for 2019?" list. Other members of the Akwaaba Ensemble include Namory Keita- Master Djembe Fola - kpanlogo drums and backing vocal from Guinea West Africa. Josh Williams - Djun Djun Drummer, hand percussion and backing vocal. Michael Osendah - Dancer, backing vocal and lite percussion from Ghana, West Africa. Monique Williams - Dancer, singer and lite percussion.
Rev. Bob Thompson is President of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. He is the retired Phelps Minister for Phillips Church at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire.
The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC) provides African American, African and Caribbean professional artists with an opportunity to learn, to work, to grow, and to be nurtured in the performing arts. The overall mission of the NEC is to present live theatre performances by and about black people to a culturally diverse audience that is often underserved by the theatrical community.
Burgandy Williams is an R&B powerhouse songstress who had an impressive international debut on The X Factor UK and winner of Amateur Night at the Apolo.
Joy Brown, a native of Newark, NJ, received her initial musical training in the Pentecostal church under the tutelage of her father, a singer and musician. She began singing solos at the age of five; and it was in the church that Joy tapped into the ability to "feel the spirit" of a song. Joy attended Immaculata University where she concentrated on studies of Music Education and Performance. In 2016 Miss Brown moved to New York City to study, perform, and pursue a career as a jazz vocalist. Since moving to New York City Miss Brown regularly performs in such venues as Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, The Django, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Sag Harbor Music Festival.
Michael Andreaus is an American Musical Theatre Actor best known for his portrayal of 'Coalhouse Walker, Jr.' in Theatre Aspen's Ragtime. Born in Atlanta, Michael began studying at a young age before earning his Bachelor of Music from the University of Central Oklahoma. He has performed at regional theaters around the country, including Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. Other credits include Dreamgirls ('Curtis Taylor, Jr.'), Leap of Faith ('Isaiah'), Man of La Mancha ('Miguel de Cervantes'), Rock of Ages ('Ja'Keith' / 'Mayor'), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ('Mitch Mahoney').
Sean Mason is an American musician, composer, and bandleader. As a versatile artist, Sean Mason interweaves through genres and styles but will always leave his audience with a recognizable footprint of the crudest form of himself. Most importantly, Sean Mason is obsessed with the preservation of America’s own art form, jazz, as well as the preservation of the democratic principles that allow jazz to be jazz. As a living example of these principles, Sean Mason is determined to inspire and cultivate the realization of the self across all barriers of the human race. Sean Mason realizes the potential of music to provoke unity, transform lives, and communicate love, and he will always incorporate those values in his performances. When you witness Sean Mason perform, you will experience love. www.seanmasonofficial.com
N'Kenge, an international award-winning singer, is an artist whose musical range covers eleven languages and genres that stretches from Opera, gospel, Jazz, pop and musical theatre. A graduate of both Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, N'Kenge starred in a "Man in the Mirror" world tribute show and made her debut in Sondheim on Sondheim singing alongside Vanessa Williams, Barbara Cook, Tom Wopat and Norm Lewis.
Adrian Miller is a food writer, attorney and certified barbecue judge who lives in Denver, CO. Miller previously served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America—the first free-standing office in the White House to address issues of racial, religious and ethnic reconciliation. Miller’s first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time won the James Beard Foundation Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014. His second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas was published on President's Day, 2017. It was a finalist for a 2018 NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Literary Work—Non-Fiction," and the 2018 Colorado Book Award for History. In 2018, Adrian was awarded the Ruth Fertel "Keeper of the Flame Award" by the Southern Foodways Alliance in recognition of his work on African American foodways. Read more at www.soulfoodscholar.com ; Facebook: Soul Food Scholar Fan Page; Instagram:@soulfoodscholar; Twitter: @soulfoodscholar.
Amy Michael is a biological anthropologist specializing in the investigation of human tooth and bone microstructure. Using the principles of skeletal biology, Michael asks questions about health, pathology and age-at-death to better understand people in the past and present. With training in bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and historical archaeology, Amy has worked on field projects in the United States, Belize, and Albania. She is currently a visiting Lecturer at UNH.
Kendra Smith of Nashua, NH, is the owner of Soel Sistas, a catering and meal prep business she launched last year that specializes in Soul Food and Southern comfort classics. A native of Lowell, Mass., Smith moved to Nashua when she was 12 years old and has more than two decades of cooking experience. In mid-March, she started the Feed the Kids free meal program, a donation-run initiative that has been providing up to 400 free meals a week to local children and families in need.
Shari Robinson is the director of Psychological and Counseling Services at UNH. Shari’s areas of professional interest include counseling issues related to diversity and multiculturalism, spirituality/religion, First-Generation college students, Student Veterans, and mentoring people of color. Shari considers herself a social justice change agent working toward equity, inclusion and diversity in all of her professional and personal settings.
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