It's Black History Month and a few weeks ago, Muskegon Heights Schools reached out to Chef LaKisha Harris at Soul Filled Eatery and asked if she would be willing to grab a project and run with it for the kids at the school. Not a second thought had to go into it. The idea was that she'd take her skills as a Chef, put them to use instructing the students to how to make a recipe for black eyed peas and in the meal kits that go home to the students, they would find the ingredients that were needed to make the recipe and be able to not only learn how to follow the directions, but to try something in the kitchen and, even contribute to the meal. It was an amazing opportunity to share a little knowledge much further than it would normally go.
It's in honor of Black History Month which is observed every February and it also has a tie in with a book the kids are reading at the Heights. It's called "Black is a Rainbow Color" by Angela Joy. A brief summary of this book is, "A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on." It's inspiring, it's elevating and uplifting and it's said that it's a necessary addition to any child's library of books to be read. After all, we're all Americans, but one of our greatest strengths is the heritage we share from where we are from and to understand everyone's a little better, that can't be anything more than a great idea.
Now, here's the surprise. We told LaKisha that we were going to shoot the main body of the story and add separate openings and closings for the school and then for the Muskegon Channel. That was stretching the truth a little. See, the thing is, LaKisha quietly and without asking anything in return quite often does things like this to help others. Maybe it's some food for an event that needs to draw some people in, maybe it's making sure some bellies are full who might otherwise go without. You hear her talk time and time again about the importance of food in a human connection, and we're here to tell ya, she practices what she preaches. The girl is one of those humble, community hero's that doesn't expect a lot of fanfare for what she does. She does what's right, simply because it's the right thing to do, time and time again. She's here building community as much as she is business.
So with that, the untouched instructional video that's going home with the food kits to all of our Muskegon Heights Tigers! Black Eyed Peas are on the menu!
This is how it's done! Without so much as a blink, LaKisha wanted to pitch in for the kids at Muskegon Heights and she opened her heart and kitchen up wide to show them a simple dish that could very well spark the next wave of culinary experts in our area. If they follow in the footsteps of LaKisha with the drive, passion and general love of people, they are heading in the right direction for sure. If you'd like to know what the kids at the Heights are reading, you can click on the link below to order a copy of "Black is a Rainbow Color" from Amazon. We are proud to have Tiger Blood running thru us as always!!
