For the final week of Black History Month, Social Justice For Us held a dining hall takeover where classic soul food dishes such as roasted duck and cracklin bread were served for dinner Tuesday through Thursday night. 

The recipes Freddy Sims, Social Justice For Us founder, sent to the dining hall to be created were originally from Edna Lewis and James Hemingway. 

“Edna Lewis is the mother of soul food,” Sims said. “She does it in such an Indigenous way because she really focuses on seasonal cooking so she has recipes for the fall, for the winter and so forth.”

Soul food was chosen by Sims as a way of celebrating Black History Month due to its inviting nature and complex history. 

“For me, food has always been something that’s very common between everyone,” Sims said. “We want people to be blown away by the taste buds but then also blown away by the history of soul food, because it’s not just an African American thing. Soul food is made up of white cuisine, Indigenous and also African American cuisine. If it wasn’t for these three unique cultures blending together and providing the food and the resources to curate what we now know as soul food then we wouldn’t have it.”

Along with the soul food being served at the Global station Feb. 22 – 24, Social Justice For Us will be providing each recipe, informational pamphlets and stickers at a booth inside the Northern Lights Dining Hall.

“I think it’s just important that we honor [the history of soul food] and I hope that people just take away the resources that we provide,” Sims said. “I just really hope people not only dive into the food but also dive into the education provided.”