Anti-racism at Methodology

To our community,

Methodology strives to be actively anti-racist by not only educating ourselves about anti-racism but by building anti-racist practices into our everyday work. Here are some resources we’ve found helpful and some steps we’ve taken to support the black community.

Learn and teach others about anti-racism, awareness, and nonviolent communication

These are the books I’ve personally found helpful to re-read over the past few days. We’re making these books available to our team as well.

(1) “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. An excellent facts- and history-packed, crystal clear explanation of what racism is, what anti-racism is, and why being anti-racist requires shifting our focus from people to policies. After reading this book, you’re more likely to better understand the emotions and reactions of the black community right now, better understand what you can do to end racism, and better understand why we should all care about this cause.

"The question for each of us is: What side of history will we stand on? A racist is someone who is supporting a racist policy by their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea. An antiracist is someone who is supporting an antiracist policy by their actions or expressing an antiracist idea." - Ibram X. Kendi

(2) “Awareness” by Anthony de Mello. Learn what it means to be truly aware of what is actually happening in life by identifying and dropping illusions. Once we learn what racism is, we need the tools to be self-aware of when we are behaving in racist vs. anti-racist ways. This book is helpful for this.

"What you are aware of you are in control of; what you are not aware of is in control of you." - Anthony de Mello

(3) "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg, PhD. Improve communication skills by excluding judgments, blame, and violence in order to resolve conflicts more effectively. This is a time when many of us are having difficult conversations about race, racism, anti-racism, privilege, shame, and other emotionally-charged topics with those who are close to us. Learning how to communicate empathetically with someone who shares an opposing point of view is key right now. I always say to our team that the goal of communicating isn’t just to express what you want to say, it is for the person you are addressing to understand what you are trying to say. This book is immensely helpful with this.

"Non-violent communication: a way of communicating that leads us to give from the heart... We are led to express ourselves with honesty and clarity, while simultaneously paying others a respectful and empathetic attention." Marshall Rosenberg, PhD.

There have also been several incredible lists published recently that include books on racism and black experiences in this country. We encourage our community to seek these out:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/books/review/antiracist-reading-list-ibram-x-kendi.html 

Support black cookbook authors

Here are some books our team has recently purchased to support black cookbook authors and culinary historians, and learn more about the culture and history surrounding recipes from the black community:

“The Taste of Country Cooking” by Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis was born in 1916 and published “The Taste of Country Cooking” in 1990, which quickly became a classic. In her book she expertly interweaves stories of her childhood in the country with recipes from the black community.

“Soul: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes” by Todd Richards
Todd Richards is an Atlanta-based, James Beard-nominated chef. In his cookbook, Richards gives us a personal look into inspirations behind his most well-known dishes. 

“The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks” by Toni Tipton-Martin
“The Jemima Code” is a James Beard-winning book that’s a unique combination of historical anthology and cookbook. Written by food historian Toni Tipton-Martin, this book focuses on the many ways African-American women have contributed to cooking while also challenging the racial stereotype of the “Aunt Jemima” woman.

“The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South” by Michael W. Twitty

Named book of the year by the James Beard Foundation in 2018, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty traces the evolution of Southern cuisine by examining his own ancestry. Through this lens he not only examines the politics surrounding the origins of Southern cuisine, but also larger struggles of race and how food might play a part in bringing people on both sides of these issues together.

“Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day” by Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson

Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson pay homage to the melding of Asian, African, and American flavors that occurred during Harlem’s cultural renaissance with a compilation of over 100 recipes. The book also brings to life the history of Harlem’s food scene through essays by Veronica Chambers.

“Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen” by Alexander Smalls

Alexander Smalls, a chef and opera singer, brings his two passions together in this innovative cookbook. He associates recipes with music to help us understand the spirit of the recipes he’s presenting.

“something to food about: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs” by Questlove

A book featuring conversations with ten American chefs around food, creativity, and the world as a whole

Donate what you can

Methodology has donated to these organizations (click to donate):

NAACP

ACLU

Farms to Grow

Bay Area Black Owned Business Relief Fund

Black Lives Matter

In addition, we’ve partnered with @_malika_yasmin_ to donate boxes of Methodology food to black postpartum mothers who are having a difficult time right now. If you’d like to nominate one of these mothers, please email help@gomethodology.com with their full name, email address, delivery address, delivery phone number, and delivery instructions.

Support black entrepreneurs & influencers

Hanahana is a black-owned beauty brand founded by Abena Boamah, and we’ve carried their shea butter in our Grocery section and now in our home goods store for a few months now because I was inspired by the Abena’s commitment to building a supply chain that creates not only an incredibly nourishing and effective product but that gives back to the women in Ghana who create their shea butter. Support this brand by purchasing directly from them or from our store. 100% of profits from this lotion this month will be donated to the ACLU.

If there are other black-owned beauty or food brands you’d love to see in our store, please email your suggestions to help@gomethodology.com.

In addition, here are a few of my favorite-black owned restaurants in Los Angeles that I would love for you to order food from as soon as possible. I will be purchasing from them over the coming days and have reached out to coordinate giveaways paid for by us in order for more people to try their incredible food.

We have also reached out to black chef owners about collaborating with us as Guest Chefs on upcoming menus.

And we are currently reviewing the list of influencers we will partner with in future social media campaigns and are committed to ensuring the races are distributed evenly among white, black, asian, and latinx influencers.

Lastly, because access to mentors can be life-changing, I am opening up my calendar for two days next week for black female entrepreneurs to book time slots with me to discuss whatever challenges they are facing with their businesses right now. To book a slot, click here.

To our black community: we acknowledge the pain you are currently experiencing, and we are committed to doing our part with continuous action.

Julie Nguyen,

CEO & Co-Founder