Kirk Symposium Reading Groups

THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Foundry is partnering with our neighbors at The Edlavitch DCJCC for a series of events surrounding the book Black Food Geographies; Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C. In November, join a reading group with other Foundry and JCC community members as we read together.

Each group will be limited to 12 people. Groups will have a facilitator and discussion questions to take them through this journey. We encourage you to secure your copy of the book at Mahogany Books or order online. We'll try to provide a variety of meeting options between in-person, hybrid, and virtual.

In December, author Dr. Ashanté M. Reese will join us for Foundry's Kirk Symposium, offering two days of learning and interacting with the author. The events will take place on December 12 and 14. Details and registration for the Kirk Symposium will be provided separately.

Reading groups will meet for the first time the week of November 7. After the first meeting, the meeting day and time can be determined by each reading group.

Book Description:

In this book, Ashanté M. Reese makes clear the structural forces that determine food access in urban areas, highlighting Black residents’ navigation of and resistance to unequal food distribution systems. Linking these local food issues to the national problem of systemic racism, Reese examines the history of the majority-Black Deanwood neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Reese not only documents racism and residential segregation in the nation’s capital but also tracks the ways transnational food corporations have shaped food availability. By connecting community members’ stories to the larger issues of racism and gentrification, Reese shows there are hundreds of Deanwoods across the country.

Reese’s geographies of self-reliance offer an alternative to models that depict Black residents as lacking agency, demonstrating how an ethnographically grounded study can locate and amplify nuances in how Black life unfolds within the context of unequal food access.