African - American: Making the Nation's Table

On Sunday, January 29, noted historian Jessica B. Harris, Ph.D., will present Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s winter program, “African/ American: Making the Nation’s Table.” The program is inspired by an exhibit developed by the Museum of Food and Drink and shown at the Africa Center in New York City in 2022. Dr. Harris served as lead curator for the exhibit, which explored the influence of African foods on American cuisine. Her lecture will feature information about how Coastal Georgia traditions and agriculture have affected regional cuisine through the decades.

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Jessica Harris

“Dr. Harris is recognized as the world’s foremost expert on African and African American cuisine, and we are excited to bring such a significant scholar to our area,” said Sherri Jones, Executive Director of the Society.  Dr. Harris has written 12 critically acclaimed books documenting the foodways of the African Diaspora. Her bestselling book High on the Hog was the basis of a 2021 Netflix docuseries of the same name.

A professor in the English Department at Queens College, City University of New York, for 50 years until her retirement, Dr. Harris holds an A.B. from Bryn Mawr College, an M.A. in French Literature from Queens College, a License ès Lettres from the Université de Nancy, France, and a doctorate in Performance Studies from New York University.

Her articles have appeared in most of the major food magazines including Gourmet, Saveur, Food & Wine, and Southern Living. She was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2019 and received the Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. As a consultant for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., she conceptualized and curated the museum’s acclaimed cafeteria.

The program will be held at the St. Simons Presbyterian Church on Sunday, January 29, at 3 p.m. The lecture is free of charge, but registration is required by visiting coastalgeorgiahistory.org.