African and African-American Contributions to Culture: The African Roots of American Cuisine

In this presentation, Dr. Bireda examines the many contributions enslaved Africans and African Americans have made to American culture. Traditional culture retentions survived the Middle Passage and have influenced present-day American culture. This presentation provides surprising and previously untold facts about the impact of African and African American culture upon American culture as a whole.

Registration and admission are not required to attend. Parking is available onsite. This program is part of the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center’s exhibit African Roots of Southern Cooking in partnership with the Blanchard House Museum.

Dr. Martha Bireda is the Director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County. For over twenty-five years, she was a consultant and trainer for issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, and class for school districts, law enforcement agencies, and other organizations. She is the author of A Time for Change: How White Supremacy Ideology Harms All Americans, released in September 2022, The Womb Rebellion, and is a monthly contributor to wsimag.org.

This Florida Talks program is a partnership between Florida Humanities and the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center. Funding for this program was provided by Florida Humanities and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.