Panel Discussion and Reception

Panelists: Jenné Claiborne, Jerrelle Guy, Tracye McQuirter, Rachel Bolden-Kramer

Moderator: Bryant Terry

In a recent article chef, writer, and cultural critic Tunde Wey spelled out why Black women are the future of the food industry. Inspired by Wey’s piece, this panel convenes some extraordinary bloggers, vloggers, activists, and educators who have made a mark in the food world and have recently published cookbooks. This panel will discuss nuts-and-bolts topics such as transitioning from a blog or vlog to writing a book, getting an agent, writing a proposal, writing/testing recipes, and more.

We will also dig into bigger themes such as the challenges of navigating an industry dominated by white women as a woman of color, finding your unique voice, self-publishing vs. partnering with a small publisher vs. working with a major publisher, and more.

If you are interested in writing a cookbook, building a powerful brand, and learning about the ups and downs of being a black woman in the food industry then this event is for you. A reception featuring wine, hors d'oeuvres, and sweet bites will precede the conversation.

Rachel Bolden-Kramer is a writer and babymomma revolutionary originally from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. She disturbed the status-quo as a militant teenager and poetry slam champion in the 1990s. Rachel credits the arts and activism movement of her generation in the Bay Area for contributing to her keen sense of creative justice.

Rachel is a first-generation graduate of Harvard University. After a trauma, Rachel became an expert in navigating the welfare system and referenced her strategies for survival at the margins in her workshops on radical healing commissioned by the New York City Housing Authority.

The early “My Food Stamps Cookbook” workshops grew into the Hip Dhamma Yoga Studio of Brooklyn, a community center owned and operated by Black Women yoga teachers in BedStuy. In May 2017, over 1000 backers made the cookbook become a reality in print and ebook via Kickstarter and Backerkit crowdsourcing.

‍Follow her @BabyMommaRachela

Jenné Claiborne is a chef, blogger, and author known for creating healthy and easy-to make vegan recipes. She went vegan for ethical and animal welfare reasons, and was pleasantly surprised by the way veganism improved her health and happiness. Her popular Sweet Potato Soul franchise includes a cookbook, YouTube channel, and the website SweetPotatoSoul.com.

West Palm Beach native, Jerrelle Guy is the artist and food blogger behind Chocolate for Basil and the author of the new cookbook Black Girl Baking, a project highlighting the senses and memory and finding roots and self-expression through food. Jerrelle received her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and her Masters in Gastronomy from Boston University. She makes her living celebrating and sharing the beauty and power of food using all her favorite creative outlets, including photography, writing, and painting.

She has been featured in Vogue, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, Food52, Forbes, and more.

Tracye McQuirter, MPH, was named a national food hero changing the way America eats for the better by Vegetarian Times. She's the author of the new book, Ageless Vegan, and the bestselling By Any Greens Necessary, which established her as one of the most influential vegans in the country. Tracye directed the nation’s first federally-funded vegan nutrition program and was a nutrition advisor for the Black Women’s Health Imperative.

As an adjunct professor at the University of the District of Columbia, Tracye designed and taught a plant-based nutrition curriculum for the District of Columbia Public Schools System to help prevent and reverse childhood obesity in Washington, DC. She recently created the first-of-its-kind, free African American Vegan Starter Guide in partnership with Farm Sanctuary. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Essence, Bon Appetit, Ebony, VegNews, Huffington Post, and more.

You can find Tracye on social media at ByAnyGreensNecessary.com and @byanygreens.