Psyche A Williams-Forson

Dr. Psyche A Williams-Forson is a Professor and Department Chair of American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. She specializes in African American food studies, material culture, and intersectional approaches to cultural analysis. Her work bridges academia and public scholarship, with notable books like *Eating While Black* (2022) and *Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs* (2006). She holds affiliate roles in African American Studies, Anthropology, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Awards include the James Beard Award (2023) and the American Folklore Society’s Women’s Division Prize. Her research explores Black culinary heritage, food shaming, and the socio-political dimensions of foodways. She co-leads the Mellon Foundation’s Breaking the M.O.L.D. initiative to diversify higher education leadership and has curated exhibits on African American foodservice history. Courses she teaches include Food, Trauma, and Sustainability, and Black Class from the Harlem Renaissance to Hip Hop.

• Education: B.A. English/African American Studies & Women’s Studies (University of Virginia); M.A. and Ph.D. American Studies (University of Maryland)
• Research: Focuses on Black foodways, material culture, and museum studies. Highlights include analyzing food as cultural resistance and challenging anti-Black food narratives.
• Public Engagement: Featured in documentaries like Netflix’s *Ugly Delicious* and *Al Roker’s Family Style*. Regular speaker at universities and cultural institutions.
• Grants: Principal Investigator for the Mellon Foundation’s leadership development initiative.

Awards: James Beard Foundation Award (2023), American Folklore Society Award (2006).

Labs/Initiatives: Co-leads Breaking the M.O.L.D. program; affiliated with the Indigenous Futures Lab and D.C. Queer Studies initiatives.