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Black Restaurant Week returns for a tasty, third bite

ATLANTA VOICE — The two-week food festival, which has already traveled to Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Indianapolis this year, will highlight a variety of black-owned culinary businesses and professionals throughout metro Atlanta while calling attention to minority inequality in the food and beverage industry.

Published

4 years ago

September 9, 2019

Oakland Post

Warren Luckett, a co-founder of Black Restaurant Week, said there’s a lot to expect during this year’s stop in Atlanta. (Photo by: Trarell Torrence | The Atlanta Voice)

By Marshall A. Latimore

As he emerges from his Jeep Cherokee just outside the valet stand at Boogalou Restaurant & Lounge in Midtown, adorned in a tailored suit and patterned dress shirt, Warren Luckett is also wearing a confident smile. After all, he’s been here before.

It’s a feeling he looks forward to every year around this time. He’s home — well, his home away from home. His old stomping grounds. And, plus, it’s almost showtime.

Black Restaurant Week, the nation’s largest celebration of the black culinary experience, will entice thousands of Atlanta foodies with a showcase of the region’s top black culinary talent and black-owned restaurants Sept. 1-15.

Luckett, a Houston native and Morehouse College alumnus, co-founded Black Restaurant Week with his partners Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson in 2016. In 2017, the trio expanded the festival with a stop in Atlanta as the first market to host Black Restaurant Week outside of the Houston market.

Since then, Black Restaurant Week has emerged as a fixture in eight U.S. markets. Luckett said he is hopeful that the week will go international to South Africa in 2020. “Cross your fingers!” he said.

The two-week food festival, which has already traveled to Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Indianapolis this year, will highlight a variety of black-owned culinary businesses and professionals throughout metro Atlanta while calling attention to minority inequality in the food and beverage industry.

To complete its 2019 tour, Black Restaurant Week will also make stops to the Bay Area and Dallas.

Tonight, though, Luckett has partnered with Jackie Robbins, the general manager of Boogalou Restaurant and Lounge, to host this year’s Black Restaurant Week Media Preview, an invitation-only reception for bloggers, influencers and members of the press.

Over cocktails of Woodford Reserve and a number of bites from Boogalou’s kitchen — including shrimp and grits, chicken sliders, and Caesar salads — guests mingled and networked while Luckett worked the room with his signature charm and excitement over the weeks to come.

“It’s the communal table effect,” said Luckett, co-founder of Black Restaurant Week in a recent Forbes Magazine feature. “We want to bring everyone together through the love of food.

“African-Americans make up only eight percent of restaurant owners and managers in the U.S.,” he continued. “Our mission is to provide a platform that calls for inclusion in the industry and exposes and elevates black-owned businesses.”

With its third takeover of Atlanta, Black Restaurant Week has already enlisted a number of local, black-owned restaurants across the city to offer exclusive prix fixe menus starting at just $10.

In addition to the restaurant offerings, Black Restaurant Week will host a stunning lineup of culinary events designed to expand awareness and increase support for the city’s community of black culinary talent.

The current 2019 lineup features some of the city’s most beloved black-owned spots, including Boogalou, Ms. Icey’s Kitchen & Bar in Decatur, Fin & Feathers in Edgewood, Cafe Songhai in Peachtree Corners, Nancy’s Pizzeria in Midtown and Escobar Restaurant in Castleberry Hill, with many more to come!

“Atlanta is really special to us,” Luckett said. “It’s our second-largest market in the campaign and the first city we expanded to after Houston. To say it feels like home is an understatement.

“The black culinary community here is like family and it’s been amazing to watch each business evolve over the years,” he added. “From new restaurant openings to small vendors who are opening their first brick and mortars, it fills us with pride knowing the community continues to grow.”

The vibrant celebration will end on a high note, with a hearty portion of Black Restaurant Week’s proceeds going back to the heartland of the black culinary community— the farmers that sustain the industry.

The organization will make a donation to its community partner, Family Agriculture Resource Management Services (F.A.R.M.S.), in support of its efforts to provide legal and technical services to farmers of color.

F.A.R.M.S. is a regional 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by agriculture attorney Jillian Hishaw and based in South Carolina with operations throughout Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama & the Carolinas.

The organization has dedicated itself to providing legal and technical services to farmers of color in an effort to prevent the loss of land ownership to build generational wealth and eradicate hunger in the farmers’ community.

Black Restaurant Week Atlanta is proudly supported by Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve, Ackerman & Co., ChefWear, Branwar Wine Distributing Co. and Fade Media.

For more information including participating restaurants, tickets and much more, visit ATLBRW.com.

This year’s event schedule includes the following :

Sept 10 | Art of Flavor: A Pop-Up Dinner with Chef Scotley Innis | Parlor Cocktail Den
An event for the refined foodie, this exclusive, intimate dinner presented by Woodford Reserve will feature four gourmet courses from Hell’s Kitchen alum, Chef Scotley Innis. With a special curation of award-winning wine pairings, exotic cocktails and live entertainment, Art of Flavor is a supreme culinary experience not to miss.

Sept. 12 | NOSH: Culinary Showcase | 595 North Event Center
In this spirited mashup sponsored by Makers Mark, featuring top-talent chefs, bakers and mixologists, guests are invited to rank a menu of inspired cocktails and endless delectable bites from a variety of local vendors.

Sept. 14 | Soundbites: Food Truck Festival | Atlanta Food Truck Park
Soundbites will feature a diverse fleet of food trucks and vendors, live music and entertainment for the whole family.

Participating restaurants include:

Boogalou Restaurant & Lounge
Cafe Songhai
Coaxum Low Country Restaurant
Dat Fire Jerk Chicken
Escobar Restaurant
Fin & Feathers
Members Only
Ms. Icey’s
Nana’s Chicken and Waffles
Nancy’s Pizzeria (Dunwoody Location)
Negril Village
Rosie’s Cafe
Slim & Husky’s
Spice House
Sweet Potato Cafe

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

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WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Welcome to the NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception
The post WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

September 22, 2023

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The post WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Just last month, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in climate mitigation project selections nationwide to help communities build resilience through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance program. In total, more than 50% of these projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, and in particular, 70% of BRIC projects will do the same.
The post OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

September 22, 2023

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By Erik A. Hooks, FEMA Deputy Administrator

We know that disasters do not discriminate. Yet, recovery from the same event can be uneven from community to community, perpetuating pre-existing inequalities. Recognizing these disparities, FEMA and the entire Biden-Harris Administration have prioritized equity when it comes to accessing federal programs and resources.

The numbers tell the story.

Just last month, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in climate mitigation project selections nationwide to help communities build resilience through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance program. In total, more than 50% of these projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, and in particular, 70% of BRIC projects will do the same.

These selections further underscore the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity and reaffirm FEMA’s mission of helping people before, during and after disasters, delivering funding to the communities that need it most.

Building on this momentum and our people-first approach, FEMA recently announced the initial designation of nearly 500 census tracts, which will be eligible for increased federal support to become more resilient to natural hazards and extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis. FEMA will use “Community Disaster Resilience Zone” designations to direct and manage financial and technical assistance for resilience projects nationwide, targeting communities most at risk due to climate change. More Community Disaster Resilience Zone designations, including tribal lands and territories, are expected to be announced in the fall of 2023.

These types of investments have, and will yield a significant return on investment for communities nationwide.

For example, in my home state of North Carolina, the historic community of Princeville, founded by freed African American slaves, uses BRIC funding to move vulnerable homes and critical utilities out of flood-prone areas.

In East Harlem, BRIC dollars will provide nature-based flood control solutions to mitigate the impacts of extreme rainfall events in the Clinton low-income housing community.

While we are encouraged by these investments, we know more must be done.

Not every community has the personnel, the time or the resources to apply for these federal dollars. Fortunately, FEMA offers free, Direct Technical Assistance to help under-resourced communities navigate the grant application process and get connected with critical resources. Under the leadership of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, this assistance has been a game-changer, reducing barriers and providing even more flexible, customer-focused, tailored support to communities interested in building and sustaining successful resilience programs.

In Eastwick, Philadelphia, FEMA’s dedicated support helped the city with outreach to multiple federal agencies. Together, we built a comprehensive community-led flood mitigation strategy. When applied and implemented, this will make this community more resilient to hazards like flooding, which was negatively affecting many neighborhood blocks.

In DePue, Illinois, we worked hand-in-hand with communities to improve their ability to submit high-quality funding applications for hazard mitigation projects. We are happy to share that DePue is the first Direct Technical Assistance community to be selected in the BRIC national competition. And, we know they will not be the last. Thanks to this assistance and their ambition, DePue was awarded more than $20 million to build a new wastewater treatment plant, which will reduce flooding and raw sewage back-up into the basements of homes.

In total, our agency is working with over 70 communities, including tribal nations, to increase access to funding for mitigation projects that will make communities more livable and resilient.

With extreme weather events becoming increasingly intense and frequent due to climate change, we must keep pressing forward and continue investing in ways to better protect ourselves and our neighbors. And we are encouraged that local officials are engaging with us to learn more about the benefits of the BRIC non-financial Direct Technical Assistance initiative—just last week, we saw hundreds of participants nationwide register for a recent webinar on this important topic.

We want to see even more communities take advantage of this initiative, and, ultimately, obtain grants for innovative and forward-looking resilience projects. To that end, FEMA recently published a blog with five steps to help local communities and tribal nations learn more about the benefits of this non-financial technical assistance to access federal funding. I hope your community will take action and submit a letter of interest for this exciting opportunity and increase meaningful mitigation work throughout the country.

With the pace of disasters accelerating, communities can utilize federal resources to reduce their risk and take action to save property and lives. FEMA stands ready to be a partner and collaborator with any community that is ready to implement creative mitigation strategies and help build our nation’s resilience.

The post OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities

ARIZONA INFORMANT — Prior to the Civil War, many communities in the Ohio River Valley were a part of an elaborate system that provided resources and protection for enslaved persons from Southern states on their journey to freedom. Once someone crossed the Ohio River, they traveled along unknown terrain of trails to safe houses and hiding places that would become known as the Underground Railroad.
The post Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

September 20, 2023

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By Christopher J. Miller, Sr. Director of Education & Community Engagement, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Christopher J. Miller

September is International Underground Railroad Month.

This proclamation began in the State of Maryland in 2019, and now more than 11 States officially celebrate one of the most significant eras in U.S. history. With the signing of Ohio HB 340 in June 2022, Ohio became the 12^th state to designate September International Underground Railroad Month.

Many history enthusiasts and scholars hope the momentum of the proclamation spreads to other states so that all our forebears of freedom are remembered.

Examining this era, you find that the Ohio River Valley is instrumental in the many narratives of freedom seekers. These stories are critical to our understanding of race relations and civic responsibilities.

Before the Civil War, many communities in the Ohio River Valley were part of an elaborate system that provided resources and protection for enslaved persons from Southern states on their journey to freedom. Once someone crossed the Ohio River, they traveled along unknown terrain of trails to safe houses and hiding places that would become known as the Underground Railroad.

Gateway to Freedom sign

The Underground Railroad was comprised of courageous people who were held to a higher law that confronted the institution of slavery with acts of civil disobedience by helping freedom seekers elude enslavers and slave hunters and help them get to Canada.

Many communities were a force for freedom along the more than 900-mile stretch of the Ohio River Valley, but I would like to focus on two significant communities.

Southern Indiana was a major part of this history. It was originally believed that there were from Posey to South Bend, Corydon to Porter, and Madison to DeKalb County, with many stops in between.

In further examination, the Underground Railroad in Indiana was a web of trails through the forests, swamps, briars, and dirt roads. The city that is often overlooked in reflecting on the history of the Underground Railroad is New Albany, Indiana.

By 1850, New Albany was the largest city in Indiana, with a population of 8,632. Free Blacks accounted for 502 of that population. Across the river, Louisville was Kentucky’s largest city, with a population of 42,829. A quarter of the 6,687 Black population were free in Louisville.

Town Clock Church (aerial view)

Louisville and New Albany would grow to become a significant region for Underground Railroad activity. People like Henson McIntosh became a prominent community member and major Underground Railroad conductor. McIntosh was one of approximately ten Underground Railroad agents in New Albany who used their wealth and influence to impact the lives of freedom seekers crossing the Ohio River.

The Carnegie Center for Art & History is an outstanding resource that continues to preserve New Albany’s role during the Underground Railroad era. Approximately 104 miles east along the Ohio River is another institution that plays a critical role in elevating the profile of the Underground Railroad on a national scope.

Inside Town Clock Church New Albany Indiana safe house

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio.

By 1850, Cincinnati would grow to be the 6^th largest city in the Union, with a sizable Black population.

The Freedom Center is prominently located in the heart of a historic Black community called Little Africa. Although the community no longer exists, its legacy lives on through the Freedom Center.

As with New Albany, the community that resided along the banks of the river served an important role in the story of the Underground Railroad. Little Africa was the gateway to freedom for thousands of freedom seekers escaping slavery.

Although there were Underground Railroad networks throughout the country, Ohio had the most active network of any other state, with approximately 3,000 miles of routes used by an estimated 40,000 freedom seekers that crossed through Little Africa.

Despite the growth of enslavement leading up to the Civil War, communities such as Little Africa and New Albany reveal the realities regarding race relations and a model for the dignity of human life through their respective efforts to be kind and resilient friends for the freedom seekers.

For More Information:

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – https://freedomcenter.org/

Cincinnati Tourism – https://www.visitcincy.com/

Carnegie Center for Art & History – https://carnegiecenter.org/

Southern Indiana Tourism – https://www.gosoin.com/

The post Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.