Black Chefs Rising: Food for Thought

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

I just wrote a story for TheGrio.com on rising culinary star, Nilton Borges, Jr. He's an Afro-Brazilian (which I know can be viewed as redundant) who is making his mark as the executive chef at Amali Restaurant in New York City. Amali is a Mediteranean restaurant, specializing in seasonal, local fare.

I really enjoyed talking to Borges because his 'son of a Black doctor in Brazil with pressure to follow in his father's footsteps, to restaurant worker in the United States' story was fascinating. And familiar. Borges said he had two hurdles to being accepted in fine dining kitchens here in the US, being Black and an immigrant. Please check out the story and leave a comment if you feel so inclined.

And speaking of Black chefs. Did everybody pick up their copy of Marcus Samuelsson's new memoir, Yes, Chef. Finally, we hear the details to his amazing life story from Ethiopia to Sweden to New York City and back again. Samuelsson says his whole life has been about 'chasing flavors.' Sometimes I feel the same way.

Case in point, for my mother's birthday, I prepared a dinner that brought together all of the flavors of my past; Moroccan chicken, rice salad with avocado and oranges, green beans with toasted almonds and a banana pudding with 'Nilla wafers for dessert. Kinky Gazpacho all the way.

Where would you have to go to chase the flavors of your past?

I'm listening.

Peace!

Happy to be Nappy?: Not in Brazil

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I've got another hair story for you. This time coming from our sisters in South America. In Brazil to be exact. My co-author from Hair Story, Ayana Byrd, tipped me off to this incredible story from the website BlackWomenofBrazil. Be prepared to be outraged.

Apparently, after two decades in the Brazilian court system, Sony Music has finally been ordered to pay damages for a song they released that was deemed racist and offensive to Black women. Now I expected to read about a song that perhaps used a version of the N-word in Portuguese or had violent lyrics directed towards women. But nothing I could have imagined could have prepared me for the lyrics in this song. Here take a look for yourselves:

"A representative for Sony maintained that the song was not intended to offend women and that the artist was in fact alluding to his own wife in the song and that the terms used in the song are used by Brazilians in reference to not only black women but white women as well."

Below are some of the lyrics of the song in Portuguese and English:

Veja veja veja veja veja os cabelos dela (4x)
(Look look look look look at her hair (4x)

Parece bom-bril*, de ariá panela
(It looks like a scouring pad for pots and pans)

Parece bom-bril, de ariá panela
(It looks like a scouring pad for pots and pans)

Quando ela passa, me chama atenção
(When she goes by, she catches my attention)

Mas os seus cabelos, não tem jeito não
(But her hair just isn’t right)

A sua catinga quase me desmaiou
(Her stench almost made me faint)

Olha eu não aguento, é grande o seu fedor
(Look, I can’t take it, her smell is so bad)

Veja veja veja veja veja os cabelos dela
(Look look look look look at her hair)

Parece bom-bril, de ariá panela (2x)
(It looks like a scouring pad for pots and pans) (2x)

Eu já mandei, ela se lavar
(I told her to take a bath)

Mas ela teimo, e não quis me escutar
(But she’s stubborn and doesn’t listen to me)

Essa nega fede, fede de lascar
(This black woman stinks, she stinks horribly)

Bicha fedorenta, fede mais que gambá
(Stinking beast, smells worse than a skunk)


I know. It's revolting. I can't believe this was a 'popular' tune released by a major music corporation like Sony. I also can't believe a man with a Black mother -- yes you heard me -- could pen such insulting lyrics. Really? To read the whole sordid tale of the song and the lawsuit, please visit the Black Women in Brazil website. And then go rinse the vomit out of your mouth.


Happy Friday.


Peace!

Am I Still Black if You Call Me Dark, Dark Brown?

This weekend I had the opportunity to check out the new exhibit at the Franklin Institute here in Philly called, Race: Are We So Different?. The exhibit is quite ambitious as it attempts to deconstruct this thing called race from a biological, sociological, political and economic perspective. From the website's description:

"RACE: Are We So Different? represents the work of scientists, artists, and researchers who have come together to explore a seemingly simple question—are we really so different? An immersive exhibit experience, RACE helps us understand the origins and manifestations of race and racism in everyday life through a variety of educational displays, interactive activities, and multimedia presentations."

I have to admit I didn't get to fully engage with the exhibit because I had two squirmy children as companions. (Note: Not an exhibit for the under 10 crowd) Still, one of the parts of the exhibit I found the most fascinating was the list of racial classifications or descriptions that are used in Brazil. In an attempt to show how racial categories vary by country there was a listing of the ninety seven different adjectives used in Brazil to describe the people. Yes 97!

For example, there was a term for somebody who is "bluish black," or "mulatta with kinky red hair and aquiline nose." And of course my all time favorite, "negro with corpulent body." Imagine that type of specificity. What the exhibit didn't get into was WHY there are so many different words to describe one's race in Brazil. There has to be a reason and my guess is that there is probably a hierarchy of terms. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the closer to White one is, the better off one is in society. But I could be wrong. There was a term, "polaca" which meant "having Polish features" whatever that means, but it also meant prostitute. So it may not just be about Black and White.

I'm going to do some investigating, but if you are from Brazil or have an understanding of the racial politics in that country, I'd love to hear it. So please share. And by the way, the RACE exhibit will be traveling on to Los Angeles, St. Louis and New Orleans after it leaves Philly in September. Check the website for tour details.

Thanks.

Peace!