Food of Liberation in The Village Voice
Journalist Katherine Martinelli wrote a lovely article for The Village Voice about Advice Project Media's new community dinner series, Food of Liberation. She writes:
The Advice Project’s Food of Liberation series will feature a monthly dinner, serving favorite recipes from a woman who has lived under oppression, taking place in a private location to be disclosed only the week before. The first dinner is on February 26, featuring Consolee Nishimwe, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Next up is Chi Yvonne Leina, a Cameroonian journalist and activist.
Melissa Banigan, founder and managing editor of Advice Project Media, explains, “I look for guests who have not only been through extremely difficult circumstances, but who have risen above. The women on my shortlist are strong feminists. Some of them are refugees; others have dealt with adversity right here on U.S. soil. But they're all amazing, and they each know how to partner some of life's biggest problems with remarkable solutions.”
Banigan, a single mom, used to host weekly salon-style dinners in her home. Her daughter, now fourteen, asked Banigan to revive those Friday-night suppers, and with that, the idea for Food of Liberation was born. Banigan says she’d “already been thinking of creating a series of events that would partner storytelling with cuisines from around the world,” and this was just the impetus she needed.
Read the full article in The Village Voice.
