The Gathering Table

Join us for a special culinary event that connects cookbooks to the nurturing of the civil rights movement, and the role of our ancestral food legacy in culture, health, land and freedom.

A Southern-inspired meal will be served family style, featuring some of the dishes and beverages that have sustained our people across continents and throughout decades. At communal tables, guests will savor our history on a plate, engage in an exchange of stories on how the making and sharing of meals has and continues to unite and strengthen us as a people.

The Gathering Table’s multi-course meal is curated by Chef Keith Corbin. This two-time James Beard Award nominated executive chef, co-owner of LA restaurant Alta Adams, is also the bestselling author of California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival, his memoir about gangs, drugs, cooking, and living life on the line—both in the kitchen and on the streets.

Chef will explain the provenance of the dishes served, and speak about his mission regarding food, cooking and community.

The event features

• A performance by Women of the Calabash, a percussion and vocal ensemble devoted to music from across the African diaspora.
• A special tribute to the late Octavia Butler’s Afrofuturistic masterpiece, Parable of the Sower.

Guests will also receive recipe handouts. Signed copies of Chef Corbin’s books will be available for purchase before/after the event.

Event Venue

AutoShop at Union Market, 416 Morse Street Northeast, Washington, United States