PhD Spotlight: David Jefferson

Exploring Black food sovereignty

My research examines Black foodways and carceral nutrition, tracing how food policy and prison labor harm Black communities while highlighting the abolitionist food justice practices that cultivate care and sovereignty.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s framing of food as liberation, Fred Hampton’s community‑based nourishment, and Jefferson Long’s struggle for Black political agency all serve as inspiration for the work that I do. I find myself returning to them when I need grounding, to remember that Black resistance has always been shaped by people who cared for their communities in the most practical and loving ways. They fed children, taught neighbors, stood up for dignity, and created spaces where people could feel seen and valued. Their example reminds me that resistance is not only about confronting injustice but also about nurturing the conditions that allow our people to breathe and belong.

My PhD research is centered around the intersections of race and food, with particular attention to Black foodways, Black ecological identity, and the harms of carceral nutrition. I trace how food policy and prison labor shape Black communities while also revealing the long history of food as a site of resistance and collective care. My work supports abolitionist food justice efforts that challenge the limits of prison reform and build pathways for formerly incarcerated people to become leaders in creating just and community‑rooted food systems.

“My commitment to food‑system reform comes from recognizing how the U.S. food system concentrates power in the hands of a privileged few while limiting opportunities and dignity for people of color.”

Envisioning food as a human right

I’ve always believed that food is more than nourishment; food builds community, shapes identity, and reveals who is allowed to thrive. In my view, food is a human right. All of us deserve access to food that tastes good, makes us feel good, and nourishes us. My commitment to food‑system reform comes from recognizing how the U.S. food system concentrates power in the hands of a privileged few while limiting opportunities and dignity for people of color. Seeing how deeply racism and racial oppression structure access to food has pushed me toward doing work that is rooted in racial equity and social justice.

My experiences in working with community as well as working for a hunger relief organization really motivated me to pursue a PhD. I carry these experiences with me because they taught me that food is one of the clearest ways we show people they matter. Being in spaces where food brought people together made me realize how much possibility lives in those moments of connection. That sense of possibility continues to shape how I think about justice and the kind of work I want to do.

Sustaining communities

I want everyone to have good food, I want community gardens in all of our neighborhoods, I want school kids and incarcerated people to have delicious, hot meals, I want each of us to truly know where our food comes from, and I want the corporate greed and white supremacy that exists within our food system to take a permanent vacation. Does this all sound a bit utopian? Sure. But, every single day I ask myself what is the point of doing this degree if I’m just going to continue to let the status quo be the norm? That would be such a waste. Public policy is all about choice and intention, and with this degree, I aspire to do policy differently. Whether it be as a researcher, educator, advocate, or policymaker, I want to help craft a society that truly values each of us not for the labor that we perform but for our unique ways of caring for one another, our stories, and the communities we help sustain.

Read my article “The Sweet Potato Gospel”: Watching Alma Jean, my paternal grandmother, roam around her kitchen felt like an experience like no other. She glided gracefully. She crafted flavors, stirred, folded, and chopped with intention, while The Clark Sisters, Diana Ross, & Marvin Winans played in the background. Every dish delivered comfort, but her sweet potato pie always topped the list of family favorites. Birthdays, holidays, family reunions, church picnics, you name it: Alma’s sweet potato pie showed up, and you could guarantee that only crumbs would be left by the time the function ended.