Community Kitchen: Let’s Talk Black Food Sovereignty
Community Kitchen: Let’s Talk Black Food Sovereignty
THE RIGHT TO FOOD, CULTURE, AND LIBERATION
Date & Time
Thursday, July 30
5:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT
Location
Featured Image: “Impromptu barbecue on Lock St. in Port Dalhousie c. 1940. Photographer: Harry Harper” | Source: St. Catherine’s Museum Blog
ABOUT THE EVENT
How is food connected to freedom, resilience, and collective care? Join us for a community kitchen honouring American Juneteenth and Canadian Emancipation Day, where we will explore Black food sovereignty through the interconnected histories of land, labour, and liberation across Black communities in the United States and Canada.
Let’s celebrate the richness, creativity, and care embedded in Black food traditions across borders, including:
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- Soul food traditions shaped by the ingenuity and care of enslaved Black communities who transformed scraps and limited resources into nourishment, culture, and tradition
- African Nova Scotian communities that relied on deep knowledge of farming, fishing, foraging, and food preservation to sustain generations on minimally fertile land.
Food has long been tied to Black memory, community, cultural preservation, and collective life. Together, we will explore what Black food sovereignty means today, and how food continues to serve as a powerful site of history, community, and collective care.
About Juneteenth & Emancipation Day
Celebrated annually on August 1, Emancipation Day marks the abolition of slavery in Canada and across much of the “British Empire.” June 19 or “Juneteenth” marks the delayed enforcement of emancipation in Texas more than two years after the U.S. Emancipation Proclamation. Together, these histories remind us that the abolition of slavery did not guarantee true liberation, dignity, safety, land, or justice. Through the lens of Black food sovereignty, this community kitchen creates space to hold these histories while engaging with the ways food continues to nourish resistance, memory, and collective care in the present.
We’ll be making:*
- Mac and Cheese
- Fried Chicken & Fried Cauliflower
- Honey Butter Cornbread
- Seasoned Greens (cabbage from our Learning Gardens)
- Sweet Potato Pie
*Please let us know of any dietary restrictions and/or food allergies in the registration form ahead of the event. We strive to accommodate participants’ dietary needs to the best of our ability, but please note that no recipe adjustments will be made to any of the menu items. Thank you for your understanding.
AGENDA
- Introductions and Housekeeping
- Activities
- Eating and Discussion
- Wrap-up and Clean-up
Whether you’re a seasoned chef or new to the kitchen, all are welcome!
Thanks and see you there!✨
Land Acknowledgement
This event takes place on the unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛw̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Purity Onoyemeakpo (any/all pronouns)
Meet Purity
Purity is a Mechatronic Systems Engineering student at Simon Fraser University with a strong interest in how technologies of all kinds shape communities, ways of life, and the environment. They are deeply engaged in issues related to climate equity, land and food sovereignty, mining, militarization, and anti-imperialist movements. Purity has been a community organizer for several years, contributing to organizing efforts with Canada Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights, Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group, Embark Sustainability Society, and Access to Media Education Society. They currently serve as the Relations Officer on Embark Sustainability’s Board of Directors.
Marie Haddad (she/her)
Meet Marie
Marie is an SFU graduate student and Coptic Egyptian who serves as the Director of Engagement at Embark Sustainability Society, where she develops and leads inclusive, community-focused initiatives. Before taking on this role, she spent five years as a student organizer dedicated to advancing equitable and sustainable education, uplifting marginalized communities, and championing intersectionality, anti-oppression, and anti-racism. As the inaugural VP of Equity and Sustainability at the SFSS and a former SOCA Executive, Marie helped drive landmark joint campaigns such as the creation of the Black Student Center, 15 Black Faculty Cluster Hiring initiative and SFU’s multi-million-dollar fossil fuel divestment campaign. She also led B.C.’s first unanimously passed policy on Palestinian Liberation and BDS at the SFSS, which was later adopted as a bylaw.
In her Master’s research in Communication Research for Social Change, Marie is committed to documenting and preserving the histories, stories, and organizing legacies of marginalized communities at SFU, ensuring their contributions are remembered and accessible to future generations. She remains deeply committed to building strong communities and fostering transformative change.
Event Accessibility
Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark Sustainability members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Sustainability Associate Members.
This event will be held indoors at the SUB Community Kitchen, room #2125 of the Student Union Building (SUB), SFU Burnaby. Accessibility details include:
- Attendees are free to opt in and opt out of activities as suits their needs throughout the event, including exiting and re-entering the event space.
- Some appliances and counter areas of this room are not accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids. The dining/lounge area is accessible when using a wheelchair or other mobility aids.
- We aim to host a scent-free space. Please refrain from wearing scented products in attendance of this event.
- Unfortunately, we cannot provide ASL interpretation at this time. We will be providing written recipe instructions.
We aim to make our events accessible to as many of our community members as possible. If we can take further action to make this event accessible to you, please contact Embark Sustainability’s Director of Engagement at engagement@embarksustainability.org.
Health & Safety
Participants who register are agreeing to release Embark Sustainability Society from any liability related to COVID-19. Masks are optional but encouraged.
Community Agreement
By registering to attend this event, you are agreeing to be respectful when listening to and communicating with others, and be mindful of the space you are taking up amongst your peers.
Embark Sustainability does not tolerate violence or aggression against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or ability. Please also refer to people using the introductions they provide and do not assume pronouns/gender/knowledge based on someone’s name or appearance.
If these agreements are broken by someone, we will have to ensure the safety of our community members by removing them from the event.
Questions
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Embark Sustainability’s Director of Engagement at engagement@embarksustainability.org.