In the delightful New York Times piece "Martha's Vineyard Has a Nourishing Magic for Black Americans," author and historian Jessica B. Harris '68 gives writer Nicole Taylor a tour of the culture, history, and tastes of Martha's Vineyard, particularly the section known as Oak Bluffs.
From the article:
"Many lifelong connections to Martha’s Vineyard began in Dr. Harris’s kitchen. The moments spent communing over brimming picnic baskets, and the salty-sweet smell of serenity, bring people back time and again."
Harris' latest book is the memoir My Soul Looks Back.
She has spent much of her career researching, preserving, and promoting African and African-American contributions to the culinary field. Her book High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America, with a foreword by Maya Angelou, won the International Association of Culinary Professionals' Food History Award in 2012.
A professor at Queens College-CUNY, Harris has more than a dozen cookbooks to her name and has consulted for the cafeteria of the Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture and for the Ray Charles Programs in African American Food Studies at Dillard University in New Orleans. Currently, Harris hosts “My Welcome Table,” a monthly radio show on Heritage Radio Network about food, travel, music, and memory.