Dr. Bobby Smith Addresses Food Justice during SIUE’s Speaker Series
Imagine a food system that is created, designed, managed and sustained by Black people.
Bobby Smith II, PhD, interdisciplinary sociologist and assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will discuss his vision, research and work regarding food justice during his visit to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Metro East from Wednesday-Thursday, April 12-13.
Smith’s appearance marks the third presentation of the SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC) Speaker Series. He will discuss “Rehearsing Black Food Futures: A Food Justice Perspective on Black Life.”
“Dr. Smith's work on Black food futures pushes us to think more critically about food justice and its potential for the Metro East,” said SSCC Director Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, and interim director for the Southern Illinois University Office of Community Engagement and SIUE associate professor of sociology in the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences. “I expect his message will resonate well with metro east urban farmers and food justice activists.”
Smith will talk to audiences about what he calls the “triple food movement”. He will discuss the interaction between corporate agriculture, local food and food justice and examine ways in which food is distributed, consumed and produced.
On Wednesday, April 12, he will speak to students at the East St. Louis Senior High School and the public at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation’s Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Innovation Center.
On Thursday, April 13, Smith will hold discussions at the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability at the Fuller Dome on the Edwardsville campus and the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School at the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus (WHYHEC) in East St. Louis.
Smith will conclude his visit with a presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13 in the Multipurpose Room of Building D on the WHYHEC.
Smith is currently on research leave as a fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). His research uses sociohistorical and community-based approaches to analyze historical and contemporary struggles for food justice and food sovereignty in Black communities in the U.S.
Photo:
Bobby Smith II, PhD, interdisciplinary sociologist and assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
