This book opens with an anecdote about a Black Transit Authority worker eating on a Metro train, which was not allowed up until recently. When asked (quite rudely) about it (and after being photographed) the employee responded “worry about yourself”. The author uses this to set the tone for the rest of the book. Because of course it’s certainly more complicated than that but it was a perfect premise. Food is a tool. For power, for comfort, for control, both personally and professionally. Williams-Forson takes us through many examples and anecdotes that fall under the personal and professional categories, as well as pop culture. Food is such a huge part of each person, of their culture, and the view that Black people must be regulated in all things, even what and how they eat, seems disturbingly prominent in the media and everyday life in general. It’s also not just about food or eating or clothes or music or the dozens of other things Black people are freely criticized for—it’s how all those things are inexplicably linked together. The patterns are there, we must pay attention and call out this racism for what it is.

The book read like a particularly interesting textbook. I greatly enjoyed reading it, Williams-Forson has an enjoyable writing style that leads the reader to think and question as they read. I often took a moment to reflect on a chapter or section after finishing. And ultimately, the original anecdote’s point stands. Worry about yourself!

Thank you to NetGalley and the University of North Carolina Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. (NC proud!)

’m so glad I read this. Really interesting insight into the cultural power of food and the impact our conversations around it can have. As the author writes, “how and what people eat are intensely personal and central to the daily fabric of their lives.” The author uses examples from popular shows like The Wire and Boardwalk Empire in conjunction with true stories of the displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina or tales from a local farmer’s market. I was particularly interested in a chapter that dealt with the problems presented by a Washington Post profile written several years ago about a young Black girl living in D.C.- the original article aimed at explaining how where people live impacts their health, but the author really delved into the complexities that were missing from the original to make some great points. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in reading about the intersection between food, culture, and racism.

A fascinating piece of scholarship that is approachable for the general reader. Brings forward an important conversation on prejudices and biases in such an intimate situation of food consumption. I’m glad to have read it. Thanks MIT Press for the advance copy.

While this was not my normal read, I have to admit I felt a connection to the title when I picked this title. I am a black women living in predominantly white area, and went to predominantly white school being only 1 of the 2 minorities in a school of 300z the stories that were told were more than relatable!! And while I love my fantasy it was nice to find something that I was able to really see someone going through things I went through and understand the severity. The dialogue was easily comprehensible. It gave a deeper look and allowed me to self reflect….

Eating While Black discusses the broad history of shaming and policing Black people's bodies around food. This book is an analysis of the intense scrutiny of Black food and cultures from both within the Black community and society at large. Williams-Forson does a phenomenal job of analyzing the ways African American people's food cultures are minimized and critiqued. She reminds readers that this need to control the state of being of Black fox is rooted in a stance of privilege and power and encourages us to examine the beliefs we hold in our relationship to food and why. Her goal in writing this book is to change the perceptions that feed the belief that wholeness and health are not of interest in Black communities and she just that!

I appreciated a cultural critique that encourages us to both create healthier bodies and to do so by questioning and redefining the food stories that define our culture. Thank you to the author and publisher for the E-arc copy.

Eating While Black is a fascinating look at how black people are shamed for what they eat no matter that what they eat is as individual as how they dress or how they look. Using both personal anecdotes and academic sources Williams-Forson describes the humiliation heaped on black people for simply eating what is comfortable. While this book borders on the textbook it is more a primer into the world of how people of all cultures feel the right to criticize what others eat.

A must read to understand disparities and misinformation about Black nutrition. I learned a lot and after reading this book trying to find ways to update my language.

I was very curious about this book with its teasing title. I was hoping this book would have had a more historic than sociological context since I love learning about food: the origins of customs, eating habits, and such. I was disappointed that it was so racism-centered. I tried to understand the concept of food shaming, in vain. This subject was too far-fetched even though it contained many good points on food-related matters.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

a very accessible read - this book covers an issue that everyone should know and be equally enraged about. I read this book as a POC from Australia and could see similarities in a broader context. This is a must read for everyone

This was an extremely insightful and informative read. Due to the academic format and frequent citations, it wasn't the easiest or smoothest read, however, this wasn't a hindrance to my engagement with the text.

The subject matter is both intriguing and challenging. Williams-Forson shows how food is inextricably linked to the Black experience and how food availability, food security, and food biases have played, and still play, a massive role in systematic racism towards Black Americans.

This book has challenged me to look at both my overt and implicit biases towards a range of food topics and I have finished it with more informed and intersectional perspectives than the ones I started with.

I'm very grateful to NetGalley, the University of North Carolina Press, and Psyche A Willams-Forson for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Links to reviews will be updated closer to the publication date.

Not a huge fan of nonfiction books but the content drew me in. I enjoyed the book as it was quite informative and would recommend it to others who mind read the title and want to know more. It didn't drag on and for that I must say it was a good read.
3.5 stars

A truly insightful, scholastic work. It’s a chronicle of how we have been perceived by what we eat . It is part historical glimpses of how the stereotypes of the African American community were brought to be accepted as pop culture. It is a must read for African American food ways and university departments nationwide. I hope it receives the attention it’s depth and scope deserves. It was revealing and thought provoking. It needs to trend. Happy reading.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Psyche A. Williams-Forson for an e-arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, bid kudos to Williams-Forson for writing and publishing this book. It's a huge feat to simply create a book.

This book provides a great perspective on the relationship between food and race, especially in how it shows the various connections between the two. As someone who is actively trying to unlearn my own bias, and continuously learning, I really enjoyed the different anecdotes and the information. Race is truly intertwined in so many aspects of life and this book, to me, as a foodie, provided a meaningful look at the deep, focused connection between food and race in America. I do think that, as with any scholarly book, there were points where the book was a bit dry, but overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to continue learning (or un-learning).

Eating While Black is an absolutely vital read by Dr. Psyche A. Williams-Forson that explores the realities around the food shaming of (and within) Black communities in America. Her essays are deeply thought-provoking and challenging in that she asks the reader to look not only at the perpetuation of dangerous food-related stereotypes that are wielded to further anti-Black racism, but beyond–to also consider the ways in which histories of migration, body shaming, class, and food security (or perceptions of food insecurity) play a major role in the intense policing of what Black people eat. Food, she emphasizes, also plays a crucial role in spiritual comfort and legacy-building, especially in times of disaster and trauma.

Additionally, she asks us to reflect on sustainability and accessibility, especially of context-specific groceries that would serve the immediate community in productive, rather than reductive ways. This was explored in my favourite essay, “Eating in the Meantime: Expanding African American Food Stories in a Changing Food World”, where she critiques the financially unsustainable nature of the farmers market, touches upon the rise of dollar store groceries, and asks us to contemplate the intentions behind community gardens and the performativity of grant writing and inclusivity initiatives that ultimately fall flat. A lot of what she said in this essay totally resonated with me, and has equipped me with a more critical eye.

My only, very mild, critique is that the academic writing style of most of the book (ie. introducing methodologies, lots of citations) lessened the impact of some of the statements made. This is why the aforementioned essay was my favourite; I felt it broke away from this structure and as a result was the most engaging text, as the ideas were rooted in Dr. Williams-Forson’s experiences, thoughts, and recommendations rather than reflecting upon external references or analyzing different media. Not the most constructive criticism considering the academic background of the book itself, but it did weigh on my mind a bit while reading.

Overall, this book was such a stand out for me, and I and will definitely buy a physical copy when it is released so I can annotate it and share it with others.

Was drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover and my (and my family's) own complicated history with food and body image. Loved that it centers Black people. It breaks down anti-Black racism (even from Black people), food choice, food shaming, and the stories told about African American food. Instead of being prescriptive, she offers why we should reimagine food in sustainable ways. She also gives context to why everyone cannot simply shop at farmers markets (and how Black farmers have historically been excluded from them).

Before reading this book, I believed I knew some about the history of what Black people have eaten in the US, essentially that enslaved people were forced to eat and innovate from food scraps. This book blows that myth up and provides many, many examples of what Black people have contributed to the way food is eaten within the US. For example, <i>"Millet, tubers (yams), rice, and other foodstuffs became as much a part of the economic, political, and cultural fabric of slavery as the enslaved people themselves. Africa contributed other foods to these voyages as well, including okra, black-eyed peas, plantains, and bananas, pigeon peas, watermelon, peanuts, sesame seeds, and melegueta peppers. They also brought with them the knowledge of cooking techniques such as slow cooking (like stewing and cooking down), grilling, roasting (using cabbage instead of banana leaves to wrap meat) and deep-frying. They introduced plants and herbs such as tamarind, hibiscus flowers, and kola nuts to improve tastes and fight diseases resulting from vitamin deficiency. And they had knowledge of spices, grasses, and herbs that were used for medicinal purposes as well as to disguise spoiled meats and to enhance flavors."</i>

The most powerful part of the book, to me, was the section on how a 12-year-old Black girl was shamed through an article on childhood obesity by the Washington Post (that seems to have since been removed from online content). It hyper-focused on her personal decisions instead of discussing the structural barriers and made plenty of assumptions. It offered solutions that weren't inclusive of culture nor appear to be sustainable. It showed how even well-meaning narratives can be harmful, highlighting the need to correct distorted views around what and how Black people eat.

There are so many valuable nuggets throughout this book and it is certainly worth reading to correct long standing narratives. I only wish the book was structured a bit differently. The strongest parts were in the middle and end, and I hope those points get through to readers. There were also a lot of TV references that I felt didn't add anything/took away from the book. Since reading this book, I've already witnessed several examples of how the media misrepresents or shames Black people for our food choices.

A big thank you to Psyche A. Williams-Forson, University of North Carolina Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review before its release on August 16, 2022.

Once again, Psyche Williams-Forson has created a wonderful and readable text that allows readers to think critically about the ways food can be used to establish power dynamics that do not favor Black people, who are often called upon to handle/cook with it. I can see teaching this book in a composition classroom--students love to talk about food and the insights here can help them with their critical thinking skills. Well done!

I thought this was really interesting, I’ve read about a dozen books focusing on race and this was an unusual way to look at how people are affected by structural racism. Definitely one that I hadn’t really seen discussed before.

Food is both intensely personal and intensely political. What we eat reflects not only personal preferences and the choices available, but also history, economics and culture. Any intervention, no matter how well-intended, into an individual's or a community's food habits needs to be taken in humility and with a full understanding of the complexity involved. Shaming someone for eating what they eat should have no place in this equation.

This is the argument that Williams-Forson makes in this thought-provoking and convincing book. African-American experiences with food, and with food shaming, are placed front and center. Stereotypes about what Black people eat or don't eat, and the healthiness of traditional cuisines, are examined, and the politics of food production and distribution dissected. Food, she argues, is central to a sense of identity and belonging. Anti-Black racism underlie and undermine many choices around food. Policies like redlining create food deserts. Likewise unequal government agricultural policies have slashed the numbers of Black farmers and land ownership, from one million African-American farmers working over 40 million acres in the 1920s, to today's figure of 1.4 percent of all farmers owning less than five million acres. Issues like these, rather than individual 'laziness' or lack of health education, affect food choices.

The way personal experiences are interspersed with statistics makes this slender book easy to read. The author does a good job of showing the complexity around food and identity in a way that appeals both to an average reader and to an academic.

*This book was received as a free Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

My pick in food history books has been trending towards those with more of a sociological/political theme lately. Which makes sense, because you can't separate food out from culture and the way it shapes us as humans. This book, written by Williams-Forson, trends heavily in that vein, explaining the impacts that food and people's view on race and culture have.

It should come as no surprise that Williams-Forson is a professor, this book definitely has academic notes to it. But it is still an approachable book to read, and offers readers not only anecdotes but other facts about how food can be used to "other" people or shame. The core of this book explores food shaming, first describing what it is, and then myth-busting some of the thoughts on food. Some notable myths covered are "people eat certain foods because it is all that is available" and "certain foods are always bad for you or unhealthy".

The second one really stuck for me. Because it's often thought that fast food, etc. is bad for you and you shouldn't be eating it, that people who eat it are lazy/cheap/that's all they have access to, etc.; it's easy to miss that that food can be nourishing in ways other than for your physical body. It ignores the fact that certain foods can be nourishing for the soul and mental well-being, which is extremely important.

The food shaming was a tough read as well. Having never experienced it personally (because of my privilege as a white middle-class person), I had heard other people talk about their experiences. That, combined with the different examples presented in this book really drove home how awful it is that people can't just eat what they want without being judged. That even in the act of nourishment and doing something EVERYBODY has to do (eat), there are still people looking to catch people in the "wrong" just because of their race. It has to be exhausting.

I think this is an important read if you're learning about food in general. Not just because if we're talking about food, we're talking about the people who eat it, but also because we just need to do better, we need to recognize when there are issues, and we need to make sure that we are not perpetuating those issues.

Review by M. Reynard 2022

Absolutely amazing - thoughtful, insightful, and full of anecdotes. I am grateful to the author of allowing us to read these insights.