‘Blackness for me, is the food my mom makes’

By 826 Valencia

Illustration by Sendy Santamaria

This fall, 826 Valencia published The Future is Black, a collection of writing from Black youth in 826 Valencia's Black Students Initiative. The following pieces tell stories of food, community, love, and joy. In their foreword to the book, poet Donté Clark writes: "The future is Black means to enjoy the favorite recipes of loved ones, to use our mind and our creativity to feed our families and free our mothers from debt."

Blackness for Me

by Loram Duke, age 14

Blackness for me, is my curly hair, that every single day, when I wake up it’s just messy and looks like a mohawk.

Blackness for me, is my music. When I go to school I put on my headphones and put on my playlist for the day to drown out the people around me.

Blackness for me, is my clothes. When I get up and pick out my outfit for the day.

Blackness for me, is my shoes before I go to school I put on a pair of shoes.

I chose that pair best on my outfit. 

Blackness for me, is the food my mom packs for me like sweet potato fries, taro buns, cornbread, rice and chicken.

Mm Mmm Mmm That Chicken

By Clayton Hill, age 13

“Mmmm it tastes good,’’ my mom said. It was Thanksgiving night. My mom whipped up some golden brown fried chicken, some nice turkey, some mashed potatoes with gravy, mac n cheese, and a sweet pink lemonade drink to wash all that down. The chicken stood out the most because it was as crunchy as dry skin on some crusty, dusty lips… in a good way though. 

My brothers were overwhelmed with delight at the sight, the smell, and the immaculate taste of it all. My baby nephew was sucking his thumb and I was thinking about how long it would take for my plate to be made. The food was great. It made me think about the first time I tried to cook fried chicken. I burned myself definitely, but no good cook has never hurt themselves or messed up in any way because no one is perfect. All you can do is try your best. 

Joy

By Leah King, age 18

When I’m having a rough day, food always brightens me up. No matter what it is, food always makes me happy because I’m always looking forward to a great meal. Hearing the chimes of the bell, the loud crowd roars over my rumbling stomach, it’s telling me that I’m hungry. The signals go throughout my brain to my stomach. 

Walking home from a long day of school, all I think about is food. A steamy hot meal. When the warm food hits my tastebuds it brings me joy. As I run up the stairs I feel the soreness in my legs. I wash my hands as the cold water hits my hands. I walked into the kitchen to get the leftover ribs from last night. The incredibly tender and succulent flavor arose, when the sweet and slight savoriness hit my mouth it created an explosion. It was definitely worth it.