Celebrate Gather by Ashanté M. Reese
Steep yourself in the power and intimacy of Black gatherings with anthropologist Ashanté M. Reese. Her latest book, Gather: Black Food, Nourishment, and the Art of Togetherness offers new visions for the food justice movement rooted in the methods and morés of Black gatherings across four spaces: gardens, family reunions, repasts, and protests.
To celebrate this new release, there are two opportunities to gather with Dr. Reese on April 17:
Signing and Meet & Greet, 5-6pm
Dinner & Discussion, 7pm | enjoy a meal inspired by Gather alongside a discussion moderated by cookbook author, master home cook, and producer Nicole A. Taylor
Dinner tickets include a signature cocktail with N/A options available. We will make best efforts to accommodate dietary restrictions — please indicate them on your registration form.
Note: the venue will be cleared and reset between 6-7pm.
More about the book
Food justice is defined as the understanding that our food system is unequal and that something needs to be done about it. But how can we create a world where everyone has enough? What does it mean to truly nourish ourselves and our communities?
In Gather, anthropologist Ashanté M. Reese argues for a vibrant new vision of food justice that places Black communities at the center and offers us a visionary, delicious path forward. Reese reveals that to truly create equity in our food systems, we must embrace the abundance that already exists around us—and recognize that the social body is as important as our individual health.
Gather presents rich, on-the-ground stories of gathering around food in four spaces—gardens, family reunions, repasts, and protests. Blending rich storytelling with analysis, these chapters argue for the political power of food and invite us to learn from the tactics Black communities have long used to create sustainable, systemic change.
There are no simple solutions to the problems of acute need. But by recognizing that food justice is already all around us, we can start working together to create a more nourishing, joyful world. Gather is an intimate and urgent invitation to embrace local power, build better food systems, and nourish ourselves, body and soul.
More about the participants
Ashanté M. Reese is a writer, anthropologist, and associate professor of African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Raised in Cooper Settlement, Texas, she lives in Austin and is involved in food justice movements nationwide.
Nicole A. Taylor is a James Beard Award-nominated food writer, master home cook, and producer. She has written for the New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine. Nicole is the author of The Up South Cookbook and The Last O.G. Cookbook. She is the executive producer of If We So Choose, a short documentary about the desegregation of an iconic southern fast food joint. Nicole is the cofounder of The Maroon House, a marketplace and retreat house focused on radical rest for Black creatives.
More about BEM
BEM Cultural Foundation (BCF) is the sibling nonprofit to BEM | books & more, a bookstore and culinary hub dedicated to global Black foodways and storytelling.
Established in 2025, BCF creates programs and experiences that deepen the public’s knowledge of Black culinary and literary traditions across the diaspora. BCF prioritizes communal gatherings, creating space to celebrate and explore Black food through literature while serving as a home for readers, writers, cooks, and eaters passionate about Black cultures in all their diversity.