The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice

Sponsored by the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies and the Farminary at Princeton Theological Seminary, this event features a conversation with Dr. Christopher Carter about his new book, The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice. Carter’s work merges a history of Black American foodways with a Christian ethical response to food injustice and reveals how racism and colonialism have long steered the development of U.S. food policy. Carter reflects on how people of color can eat in a way that reflects their cultural identities while remaining true to the principles of compassion, love, justice, and solidarity with the marginalized. This conversation seeks to answer the critical question: Given the history of a food production system that inflicts harm upon people of color and the poor, what should soul food look like today?

Dr. Christopher Carter’s teaching and research focuses on philosophical and theological ethics, Black and Womanist theological ethics, environmental ethics, and animals and religion. He approaches religious studies as a liberation ethicist committed to exploring how the moral economy of U.S. religious thought and culture impact the everyday lives of marginalized populations, particularly African American and Latinx communities. He is active in the leadership of the American Academy of Religion where he serves as a steering committee member of both the Religion and Ecology and the Animals and Religion Group. Professor Carter is also a pastor within the United Methodist Church and currently serves as an assistant pastor at Pacific Beach United Methodist Church.

There is no cost for this event but registration is required.