Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson is a distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. With a passion for material culture, Dr. Williams-Forson focuses her research on African Americans' lives in the United States from the late 19th century to the present. She is a multidisciplinary academic, serving as an affiliate faculty member of the Theatre, Dance, and Performing Studies, the Departments of Anthropology, African American Studies, The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity. Her extensive research in this area employs cultural studies, intersectionality, and popular culture to inform our understanding of historical legacies of race and gender representation.

In Nicolette's second PhD interview, Dr. Psyche discusses her doctoral research on the association between Black people and chicken, which turned into just one chapter of her broader research. Their conversation explores the foodways of Black people, Southern food, and the legacy of slavery, which resulted in African slaves' agricultural knowledge. The discussion also touches on the complexity of factors contributing to Black people's health, including trauma and violence, and how food choices are not solely responsible. They highlight the importance of understanding that choosing what to eat is a middle/upper-class conversation, and food shaming should be avoided. Instead, we need to consider factors such as taste, access, availability, affordability, and knowledge of how to prepare food. Dr. Psyche emphasizes that eating is a necessity, and we need to help people where they are.

Find Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson at:

Website: www.psychewilliamsforson.com

Facebook: @psyche.williamsforson

Instagram: @buildinghouses9

Twitter: @pwilliamsforson

Books:

Building Houses out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power - https://a.co/d/3xdA4RH

Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America - https://a.co/d/hrAJD4w

Taking Food Public: Redefining Food in a Changing World - https://a.co/d/4BJnOpm

Discussed on the PODCAST:

Alice Walker – https://alicewalkersgarden.com/

Black Therapist Thoughts - Patricia Hill Colins – https://bit.ly/3LpOZ9E

Darleen Clark Hine - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlene_Clark_Hine

Elsa Barkley Brown - https://history.umd.edu/directory/elsa-barkley-brown

Contending forces 1900 - Pauline Hopkins – https://a.co/d/aVr6b28

Vibration Cooking - Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor - https://a.co/d/9yqFLEs

Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons: Africa’s Gift to New World Cooking - Jessica Harris - https://a.co/d/jh7NllH

Black Rice - Judith Carne – https://a.co/d/6V6o69y

Slavery at Sea, Terror, Sex and Sickness in the Middle Passage - Sowande M Mustakeem – https://a.co/d/42gtccu

19^th Century Slave Diet - https://bit.ly/3mYoGNC

Curated Exhibition Fire and Freedom - Food and Enslavement in Early American - https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/fireandfreedom/index.html

Marcie Cohen-Ferris – https://marciecohenferris.com/

Isobella Winston – https://bit.ly/3LrZRDZ

Film – Theyr’e Trying To Kill Us – John Levis - https://www.theyretryingtokillus.com/

Good Meat Documentary - Lacota Community South Dekota – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zIP1Cer_PI

Chef Andres World Central Kitchen - https://wck.org/team

Pregnancy Aids Centre – https://pregnancyaidcenter.org/homepage/

Vegan Soul Sistuhs - www.instagram.com/vegansoulsistuhs/

Film - Contagion – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/

Doc - The Invisible Vegan – https://theinvisiblevegan.com/

Doc - Ugly Delicious - https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80170368.%202018

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Watch the trailer for Nicolette’s new film Food of Our Ancestors coming out 2025 - https://bit.ly/FoodAncDoc

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