a conversation with Nyanyika Banda
Nyanyika Banda is a professional chef, writer, and entrepreneur. She is American-Malawian. “Raised b/w a New England college town & a Midwestern one. Working through identity issues by writing, cooking & traveling.”
Current Work | MID.DLE PASSAGE EVENTS
Middle Passage Events is the celebration of the African diaspora through food, music, art & word. My goal is to continue to tell the stories of Black and Brown people, and those of African descent.
In her own words : “The term Middle Passage is used to describe the journey Africans were forced to endure as enslaved peoples from their native countries to those across the globe. As a young child learning about the Middle Passage I was overwhelmed with empathy and also fear. In some ways, it was easier for me to block the horrific details of my ancestral past than to acknowledge how hateful some people could be, and that if born in a different time, it could have been me. For the past five years I chose to live in a moderately sized city in Northern Minnesota. Of the 87,000 residents 90% are white, 2.3% Black. I had finished my undergrad there and decided to stay and turn my pop up restaurant into a brick and mortar. For 3 years, every meeting I went to I was the only person at the table that looked like me. With every interaction, I felt I was being seen and judged before I was being heard. There were many instances when my intelligence and life experiences were being undermined. I grew up in predominantly white towns and spaces. I have a lifetime of experience being a “token”. But when I thought about my ideal work environment, one that I was creating, it was one that included folks who look like me. And then I realized I had never had that experience. I’ve worked in some of the top restaurants in the US, and still not with more than 2 other black folks in the kitchen. I eventually realized I desperately needed more diversity in my life. I made a promise to myself to find my tribe, and share space with them, and collaborate with them. I am no longer subduing my identity to make my Blackness more comfortable for others, but rather finding spaces through which I can be Black, loud, and proud! “
