Cultivating a Community
The African Alliance of Rhode Island (AARI) is a nonprofit organization that connects all Rhode Islanders of African descent with community programming focused on health, food, education, and culture.
“My aspiration was, and still is, that when an African arrives in Rhode Island, they should be able to make one phone call to find assistance.”
- Julius Kolawole, Founder & Director
Listen to Julius recount how the African Alliance of Rhode Island first began.
A Moment with Julius Kolawole
There are many aspects to my story about food. There's a cultural aspect of it, a connectivity part of it, and the economy of it. I grew up in a small town in Nigeria with my dad and mom, as their last child. On the weekends and during the week when I came back from school, I had to be on the farm with my dad. So, I was exposed to a whole lot on the farm.
Everything was plentiful, that's how I grew up. I loved ripe plantain, and still do. Sometimes I ate so much, I had stomach problems, which I think was maybe from the acidic level of what I was consuming, but I didn't know that then. It was when I began to read that I began to talk and think like that.
The second part of my food story is culture. Culture in the sense that through food, we built a family. Getting to know each other, developing relationships and connectivity, all of that was done through food. When you come to visit, nobody asks you if you want to eat. They just cook and the food is ready.
Looking back at those days as a kid, many of us, or at least me, didn't pay attention to what moms go through. When you hear a line from the song Sweet Mother, which goes “She’s not going to eat until I eat.” There is a cultural basis to that, that moms go out of their way to make sure their children eat. That, of course, is a given.
For instance, there are cases where a man may have more than one wife. He may have two or three wives. Yet, each mom is responsible for all the children. One cannot just say “I'm going to respond to my children alone.” No. All the children call every wife “Mom” and that’s the culture. But we have been westernized and we are giving up on many of those cultural things.
I’ll make one more point on food. In the evening under a large tree, you’d see the elders congregate, drinking palm wine, and eating food. Not only did they share their food and drink, they also talked about the challenges they faced, whether in the community or in their family. If one needed assistance, that was where they could find help. All of this revolved around food. So, in my opinion, food is integral to life.
Tune in and listen as Julius talks about the use of food as a weapon.
Behind the Scenes: Seed Library
with Moyin Adeniji and Jumoke Akinrimisi
So, I started thinking about seed catalogs. In those catalogs, it's not unusual to see tomatoes, greens, peas, and things of that nature. But then I thought of a seed catalog that focuses on seeds from a particular indigenous group, tribal group, or cultural community.
So we started small with seventeen to twenty seeds and herbs. We have universal foods that everyone feels comfortable with, but we also have things that are specific to Nigerian or West African heritage and culture, like garden eggs. Okra is another plant that's very common. Everybody knows of it, but it actually originates from West Africa. So the seed catalog is really about sharing the narrative, being inclusive and making sure to welcome everybody who's interested.
I truly love that I can share my food with a complete stranger and we can talk about the taste, the texture, the plants that made it, and how you cook it. That's the wonderful thing about food.
Food is just one of those universals that can skirt around misconceptions and misunderstandings. That's what we're capitalizing on with the seed catalog. However, food is pliant. The result of this is that a food that people have been eating traditionally is suddenly “discovered” and becomes a new trend. Having popular food is nice, but it’s not our goal. We really want to make sure that the foods and seeds that we present continue to have dimension and body. Our aim is to preserve the cultural narrative that's behind the food.
For more information on the African Alliance of Rhode Island (AARI) check out their website. And for a glimpse at the past work they’ve done, take a look at their annual report.
As you go, listen to Julius’ parting words for younger generations.