Food historian Clarissa Clifton Lynch will return to the Vance Birthplace on Saturday, March 7, 2020 from 10 am-2 pm. Lynch will explore African American foodways as she prepares a meal in the original 1790s fireplace in the Vance house–the same fireplace where Leah, an enslaved woman, cooked food for the Vances. Learn about the realities of cooking over an open hearth, as well as the cultural roots of popular southern cuisine. Visitors may also take a guided tour of the site at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm to learn more about Leah’s experience of slavery.

As part of Women’s History Month, this event celebrates the legacy of women like Leah, who created spaces of freedom within a system of bondage.