| Throughout the Caribbean, South America and the Southern states of the U.S., the diasporic journey of Black food has a dynamic story to tell. Within the U.S., you can find Black regional cuisines ranging from the Low Country, New England and the Southwest to the West Coast and the Black cowboy culture of the Heartland that I call home. Black food is constantly evolving. It's not monolithic or stuck in one place. Black food culture is as expansive as continental Africa and its diaspora. Traveling across America and the Caribbean has given me the privilege to taste the range of Black food culture that's emerged into contemporary fusion fare with a rich history. While in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, I have enjoyed horchata (originally made from tiger nut) and sorrel (made from hibiscus), beverages that both have West African roots, washing my palate after a curry dish with callaloo, rice and peas and plantains or a plate of mofongo. But my early education didn't expose me to this culinary richness and history. As an undergraduate, I was the only Black student in the nutrition program at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater at the time. I was taught, unconsciously, that my food culture was part of the problem when it came to the health in our communities. This was without any acknowledgment of the inherent healthiness of many traditional Black foods. That lens is shifting as I type. As Black chefs have fought to elevate the status of Black cuisine, there is an emerging movement of Black nutrition advocates working to change the narrative and advocate for Black food as our medicine. Hundreds of nutritious fruits, vegetables and grains are indigenous to the African continent, where the cuisines of each country and region are as diverse as the crops that grow there. Our series, African Heritage Diet as Medicine: How Black Food Can Heal the Community, explores the African Heritage Diet and highlights the foods found on the African continent and treasured by the African diaspora, a term describing people of African descent residing outside of the African continent regardless of their citizenship and nationality. This dietary pattern—promoted by Oldways, a food and nutrition nonprofit focused on improving public health through heritage-based diets—meets the guidelines experts recommend and promotes health outcomes associated with longevity and increased vitality. And above all, it's a delicious way to eat. | 
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