A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story
Welcome to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Plan Your Visit
African American Foodways
Explore African American food traditions, and the role food plays in families and communities while we highlight objects from our collection, the Searchable Museum, the Sweet Home Café and cookbook.
Supervisory Museum Curator of the African Diaspora, Joanne T. Hyppolite, Ph.D., gives a deeper look behind the exhibit, Cultural Expressions.
African American Chefs You Should Know
Before the 1970s, Aunt Jemima’s pancake box carried the stereotypical image of a black cook, illustrating how the American food industry undervalued Southern cooks and cooking. Today, a new wave of African American chefs safeguard Southern foodways. As they reintroduce recipes in the nation’s top kitchens, they humanize how the public sees black chefs.
