Beyond The Table

Starting the Year Right: New Year Traditions in the Black South

January has not always been about reinvention. In the Black South, New Year traditions were shaped by history, uncertainty, and care. Long before resolutions and goal lists, the New Year was a moment of preparation—marked by food that sustained, homes put in order, and communities entering the year together. In this episode of Beyond the Table, explores the origins and meaning of New Year traditions in the Black South, from the foods prepared on January 1 to the practice of Watch Night and collective reflection. These traditions were not about superstition or spectacle, but about steadiness, continuity, and readiness in the face of an uncertain future. This episode opens the year with a grounded reflection on what it means to begin again—not by erasing the past, but by carrying forward what has endured. Resources & Further Reading History & Cultural Context * The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson — Context on Southern Black life, continuity, and tradition. * Bound to Respect by Darlene Clark Hine — Explores domestic order, care, and discipline in Black Southern households. * Library of Congress — African American traditions and cultural practices in the U.S. South. * Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — Cultural history of Black life, foodways, and faith practices. Foodways & Tradition * High on the Hog by Jessica B. Harris — Foundational text on African American food history. * Southern Foodways Alliance — Research and oral histories documenting Southern food traditions. * Toni Tipton-Martin, The Jemima Code — Historical documentation of Black culinary knowledge and survival cooking. Faith & Watch Night * National Museum of African American History and Culture — Watch Night and Emancipation history. * Henry Louis Gates Jr., PBS essays on Emancipation Watch Night traditions. * African Methodist Episcopal Church archives — Historical accounts of Watch Night services beginning December 31, 1862. Seasonal & Cultural Reflection * E. Franklin Frazier, writings on Black family structure and community continuity. * Oral histories from the Works Progress Administration Slave Narratives Collection.

Thank You for Listening: A Reflection on Culture, Memory, and Building Beyond the Table

Hello, I'm Amanda. Welcome to Beyond the Table stories of culture, memory, and meaning. In this short episode, I wanted to pause and say thank you. Beyond the Table launched in October, and this moment is an opportunity to acknowledge the listeners who showed up quietly, consistently, and with care. This episode reflects on what it has meant to build this show, the importance of attention and listening, and the gratitude that comes with creating something rooted in culture, memory, and meaning. This is not a recap, but a moment of appreciation and reflection as the year winds down. Tomorrow, a new bonus episode drops our Soul Food rewatch, covering Season One, Episodes Four and Five. Thank you for listening, and for being part of the early life of this show.

Christmas in the Black South: Food, Faith, and the Quiet Meaning of Home

In this Christmas episode, we explore Christmas in the Black South a tradition shaped by food, faith, memory, and the enduring pull of home. Looking beyond commercial narratives, this episode traces how Christmas became a moment of rest, gathering, and continuity in Black Southern life. From the historical roots of holiday pauses during slavery to the lasting significance of Watch Night services, Southern foodways, and returning home, we examine how culture transformed constraint into tradition. This is a story about kitchens and churches, sound and memory, migration and return, and the quiet meaning of belonging. Designed for Christmas week listening, this episode is reflective, historical, and grounded in lived experience. If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone who might appreciate this story. All sources and references are listed below. Follow the show on Instagram: @AmandaPaints1214 Tictok: beyondthetablepod Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com [beyondthetablecast@gmail.com] SOURCES & REFERENCES * National Museum of African American History and Culture — Religion in African American History — African American Foodways and Cultural Memory * Library of Congress — Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narratives Collection * National Park Service — Watch Night and the Emancipation Proclamation * Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns * Henry Louis Gates Jr., The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross * James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton, Slavery and the Making of America * Pew Research Center — Religion and African American Communities * Southern Foodways Alliance — Oral histories on Southern food traditions and holiday cooking

Erased: The Life and Murder of Philip DeVine

In December 1993, three people were murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska: Brandon Teena, Lisa Lambert, and Philip DeVine. While Brandon Teena's story became nationally known, Philip DeVine a twenty-two-year-old Black man was nearly erased from public memory. This episode centers Philip DeVine's life, presence, and death, and examines how race, media framing, and popular culture shaped which victims were remembered and which were forgotten. In this episode, we explore: • Who Philip DeVine was and why he was in the home • The events of December 31, 1993 • How the legal system documented all three victims • How Philip was removed from national storytelling • The role of race in victim erasure • Why restoring Philip's name matters today All resources used to build this story are listed in the show notes so you can explore this further. New episodes of Beyond the Table are released every Tuesday. Follow the show on Instagram: @AmandaPaints1214 Tictok: beyondthetablepod Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com [beyondthetablecast@gmail.com] Resources Journalism and Reporting • NBC News — "Man pleads guilty in teen lesbian's slaying" • Associated Press (AP) — Coverage of the murders, arrests, and trials • Lincoln Journal Star — Local reporting on the 1993 triple homicide • Omaha World-Herald — Trial and sentencing coverage Documentaries • The Brandon Teena Story (1998) — Documentary that references the full case • Boys Don't Cry (1999) — Referenced for cultural context and erasure analysis Academic and Cultural Analysis • C. Riley Snorton — Black on Both Sides • Jack Halberstam — In a Queer Time and Place Written and produced by Amanda Clemons © 2025 Beyond the Table. All rights reserved

The Black Mall: A Cultural History of Buying, Belonging, and Becoming

In this episode, we explore the rise and fall of the Black mall one of the most important and overlooked cultural spaces in late twentieth-century America. From segregation-era restrictions to the emergence of malls as Black social hubs in the 1980s and 1990s, this episode traces how Black consumers reshaped retail, identity, and community across generations. We take you through the history of restricted access, postwar suburbanization, the migration of Black families into new commercial spaces, and the cultural energy that made malls feel like community centers, fashion runways, and social worlds. We also look at the economic forces that led to mall decline and what remains culturally, even after the escalators stopped. New episodes of Beyond the Table release every Tuesday. Follow the show on Instagram: @AmandaPaints1214 Tictok: beyondthetablepod Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com [beyondthetablecast@gmail.com] Resources * Business Insider — "The rise and fall of the American Shopping Mall" * Brookings Institution - Black Buying Power * Atlas Obscura — "The Life and Death of the American Mall" * Forbes - "It's the End of the Mall As We Know It ... And I Feel Fine" Written and produced by Amanda Clemons © 2025 Beyond the Table. All rights reserved