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Review of: 
The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice 
Christopher Carter. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2021. Pp. 208, notes, index. 
 
Review By: Khari Chanel Johnson 
 
The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Food, and Food Justice provides a decolonial analysis of Black 
foodways that imagines an understanding of food justice grounded in an ethics of radical 
Christian compassion. Christopher Carter, an Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious 
Studies at the University of San Diego, connects the history of Black foodways to food 
justice and suggests (Black) Christians endeavor toward a more just food system that 
benefits Black folk. Carter explains that for Black people, soul food is an expression of 
identity; it’s how we learn about who we are and where we have been.  
 
As a Black Christian and Communication scholar who critically studies food, I was 
especially intrigued by Carter’s arguments. Though racism and colonialism have sought to 
erase identity, our foodways have resisted and survived those oppressions and continue to 
serve as mementos of our survival. However, the development of US Food policy, and thus 
the food system, has historically been harmful to people of color. Carter argues that Black 
folk must continue to find ways to ensure the survival of our culture, history, and people. In 
order to meet that need, he proposes a “reimagination of Black foodways” that centers the 
radical compassion of Jesus Christ (x). Carter believes that compassion, loving God, and 
loving one’s neighbor are essential to creating a more just food system that privileges all 
people, not just white people. This book proposes a “decolonial theological anthropology” 
or “theoethical way of being human that resists the dehumanizing logic of Enlightenment 
colonial thinking” as a basis for reimaging soul food (xi). Carter’s work engages three 
theologically grounded eating practices that address food injustice: seeking justice for food 
workers, caring for the earth, and “soulfull eating,” a term that Carter coined to address a 
practice of Black veganism that decolonizes soul food and delinks it from coloniality (13).  
 
Intended as a resource to decolonize Black foodways and combat structural racism and 
food injustice, Carter explicitly chooses to direct this book toward Black Christians (11). 
Because Carter has defined his intended audience so directly, his readers must view the 
work with the understanding that it is, at its core, a book of directives that, depending on 
the identity of the reader, may vary in applicability. However, there are elements to the 
book and what it explores that are interesting for a variety of readers to consider.  
 
Diverting from traditional historical lenses, this book features a historical overview of 
Black foodways and the food system that weaves in Carter’s personal narratives and 
experiences; it is both theory and praxis, incorporating a theological grounding and 
spiritual formation while providing actionable steps to execute Black veganism. The book 
centers on soul food, which Carter believes emerged as “an antiracist response to anti-
Black racism” (2). Thus, he argues, a reclamation of soul food today must consider the 
problems of how the current food system (re: industrial agriculture and factory farming) 
marginalizes people of color. Each chapter ends with the vegan soul food recipes that 



             Johnson, Review, Spirit of Soul Food                   Digest: A Journal of Foodways and Culture 9:2 (2022) 

 

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Carter uses to feed and educate his community about soulfull eating and food justice (ex: 
red beans and rice, collard greens, gumbo, cornbread, watermelon, and peach crisp).  
 
Taking these systems of oppression into account, Carter proposes Black veganism as the 
solution because it enables a practice of Christian social justice that also contributes to food 
sovereignty for Black folk. Food justice alone addresses a food system’s inequities that 
negatively impact Black people; however, when Black Christians reimagine soul food or 
eating in a way that is more consistent with theological and social values, it ensures the 
preservation and survival of Black folk. For Carter, soulfull eating is a proactive practice 
that demonstrates care for the earth and food workers rather than simply reactively 
attempting to mitigate the effects of food injustice. An essential part of that proactivity is 
the claim to Black veganism. Carter argues that not eating meat reclaims the racist 
hierarchical anthropocentrism that once viewed Blacks as not human or as animals. Carter 
argues that Black veganism is a decolonizing project that unlinks Black bodies from this 
racist view and helps to express compassion for God’s creations. 
 
The book finds its progression by exploring the topic through the four movements of 
epistemology: knowing, thinking, being, and doing. Chapter One, “Transatlantic Soul” 
(knowing), looks at a historical overview of Black foodways in the context of colonialism. 
The chapter traces the culinary contributions of Black folk and explores how soul food has 
evolved from food practices in Africa, on plantations, during the Great Migration, and 
continues to shift in the present moment. Chapter Two, “Food Pyramid Scheme” (thinking), 
focuses on the political economy of food as it relates to the exploitation of labor in the food 
system and the environmental racism of food policies. Chapter Three, “Being Human as 
Praxis” (being), shows how white Christianity has justified the oppression of Black bodies 
and thus sets up the theoretical framework for Black Christians to pursue a social justice 
praxis centered on food. Chapter 4, “Tasting Freedom” (doing), proposes the theologically 
grounded eating practices that respond to food injustice and reimagine a soul food that is 
socially, politically, and spiritually liberating. 
 
The Spirit of Soul Food has a few particular strengths that merit reflection. One of the most 
salient strengths is the text's well-researched and accessibly written quality. Because of its 
approachability, the book would be a useful resource for teaching undergraduates about 
structural racism in the food system (124). Carter clearly and succinctly explains 
complicated concepts such as racism, neoliberal political systems, coloniality, white 
supremacy, and decolonization through the lens of Black foodways. Chapters one or two 
are particularly appropriate for students in the interdisciplinary fields of Communication, 
Food Studies, Women and Gender Studies, and Black Studies. It could also be a valuable 
book to include on a Theology syllabus. The theoretical components of the book are sound, 
and the praxis components would provoke much debate among students, especially the 
solution of Black veganism to problems of racism and injustice. The book represents a 
productive decolonial project that posits a reimagination of soul food and asks the reader 
to consider how we can improvise “traditional” recipes to fit today’s broken food system. In 
addition, it might make for an exciting assignment for students to test out the recipes and 
put Black veganism into practice. For example, the collard greens recipe calls for raisins 
and orange juice, which is likely unfamiliar to most people who cook or consume soul food. 



             Johnson, Review, Spirit of Soul Food                   Digest: A Journal of Foodways and Culture 9:2 (2022) 

 

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The novel focus of the book could generate a lively discussion about the feasibility and 
practicality of vegan soul food in Black communities.  
 
While veganism is undoubtedly one way to better care for animals and the earth, it is 
certainly not the only solution to racism and food injustice. However, this often-overlooked 
aspect of the study of Black foodways provides a valuable addition to our understanding of 
soul food, veganism, food ethics, and restorative justice. The Christian lens of compassion is 
certainly an unconventional approach to address structural racism and the significance of 
Black culinary history but is a significant call for Black Christians (and anyone else) to 
progress towards anti-oppressive liberation for humans, nonhumans, and the earth. 


