Food Adjacent with Ani Steele

Welcome to the debut of Curating Memory with Chloé Duplessis (formerly Artful Accessibility). In this inaugural episode, Chloé sits down with food scholar, historian, and PhD candidate Ani Steele to explore the profound ways food serves as a living archive of the Black experience.

From the “gentle epiphany” of self-care to the migration patterns of Black Coloradans, Chloé and Ani discuss how what we eat defines who we are and how we remember.

In this episode, we cover:

* The Journey from Social Work to Food Studies: How Ani’s desire to serve evolved into a mission to document Black culinary history.

* Beyond Soul Food: Challenging the “monolith” of Black food and exploring the diverse foodways of the American West.

* The “Good Black” & Survival: A candid conversation on navigating white-centered spaces and reclaiming identity.

* The Power of the Struggle Meal: Why spaghetti and canned goods hold as much historical weight as a Sunday feast.

* The History of Black Colorado: Highlighting the often-erased stories of Buffalo Soldiers and the foundational Black presence in the territory.

Notable Quotes:

“Food holds memory... it can be that doorway to talk about other things.” — Ani Steele

“Most of the things that people traditionally love about American culture... have been created, curated, or innovated by Black and Brown people. It’s just the truth of what is.” — Chloé Duplessis

Connect with our Guest:

* Ani Steele: Subscribe to her Substack, Builder/Weaver to follow her research on Black foodways.

Connect with Chloé Duplessis, Duplessis Art & Curating Memory:

* Web: www.chloeduplessis.com

* Instagram: @duplessis.art

Curating Memory music credit: By and By, performed by Acoustic Standard

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit curatingmemory.substack.com