Recipes for Respect: African American Meals and Meanings

    In a new book about African American foodways, author Rafia Zafar chronicles the influence of black cooks on the way we eat. Slaves and recently freed people were highly respected for their talents in the kitchen. Some notable cooks even published cookbooks as far back as the 1800s. The cookbooks reveal much about the lives of their authors and the relevance of their recipes to this day.