WHO: | Leon County Government and The Village Square |
WHAT: | Created Equal: The Soul of Food |
WHEN: | Tuesday, April 21, starting at 5:30 p.m. |
WHERE: |
The Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St. |
Leon County Government and The Village Square will host the eleventh annual Created Equal program titled, “Created Equal: The Soul of Food” on Tuesday, April 21, at 5:30 p.m. at The Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St. This award-winning program will delve into the powerful ways food connects culture, history, and community through shared traditions and lived experiences.
The event is free, and food and beverages will be provided to enhance the conversation. Interested attendees are encouraged to register for the event at LeonCountyFL.gov/CreatedEqual.
Recognizing the deep cultural significance and evolution of culinary traditions, this year's Created Equal event will explore how food tells the story of survival, adaptation, and celebration across generations. From recipes carried across oceans to dishes created out of ingenuity and resilience, food has long served as a living record of the Black and Brown experience, preserving history, strengthening community, and feeding both body and soul. Through a discussion-based panel, attendees will explore how the culinary traditions of Black and Brown communities have evolved and how personal stories of food reveal deeper truths about history, belonging, and resilience. The evening will celebrate food as a powerful expression of love, memory, and community.
The panel will include:
A native of Florida’s panhandle, Rosalind Bentley is deputy editor at the Southern Foodways Alliance’s journal, “Gravy”, the editor-at-large for the Oxford American, and the senior arts and culture writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, focusing on culture, arts and sometimes food. A graduate of Florida A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism, she also received her Master of Fine Arts degree in narrative non-fiction from the University of Georgia. She has covered a variety of stories over the years from the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first Black president, for which she won first place in editorial writing from the National Women’s Political Caucus to the important role of Black women who fed the civil rights movement. A two-time James Beard Award finalist (2020), her AJC profile of U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey was anthologized in Best American Newspaper Narratives 2012. While in Minnesota as the enterprise writer at The Minneapolis Star Tribune, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for a special project on race relations.
Yolanda Bowman is a talented chef with deep Southern roots, originally from Valdosta, Georgia, and now based in Leon County, Florida. She is the founder and owner of Blackberry Mimosa, a catering company known for its personalized private chef services, hands-on cooking lessons, and thoughtful meal prep and planning. Inspired by her life journey and rich cultural heritage, Yolanda brings passion, creativity, and authenticity to every dish she creates.
Ravi Howard is an American novelist and assistant professor in the creative writing program at Florida State University. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Virginia and specializes in fiction and creative nonfiction. Howard is the author of “Driving the King” (2015) and “Like Trees, Walking” (2008), which received the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. His work has appeared in “Salon,” “The Massachusetts Review,” “The New York Times,” and “Gravy”, the Southern Foodways Alliance’s acclaimed magazine, where he has explored the cultural and personal dimensions of food and Southern identity. In addition to his literary writing, Howard has contributed commentary to NPR’s All Things Considered and has engaged audiences through essays and storytelling that often intersect with themes of history, place, and food. He is a former fiction lecturer at the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and previously taught at Atlanta Metropolitan State College.
Jay Morrell is a Leon County-based restaurateur and co-owner of Early’s Kitchen, a beloved local establishment with roots dating back to 1984. Alongside his wife, he purchased the restaurant in 2008, continuing its legacy while adding his own vision and leadership. Before becoming a small business owner, Morrell served as executive chef at Florida A&M University, where he honed his culinary expertise and passion for service. His journey to entrepreneurship was shaped early in life by his parents, migrant farm workers who traveled the East Coast harvesting crops. A pivotal childhood memory—watching his father start a hauling business—instilled in him a strong work ethic, sense of pride, and determination to build something of his own.
Linda Bond Edwards will moderate the conversation. She is a mediator and arbitrator with Alvarez Dispute Resolution, serves as Chair of The Village Square Board of Directors and moderated the organization’s Local Color program series themed around food in summer 2025. A Florida Supreme Court–certified county and circuit civil mediator, Edwards brings extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution. She earned her law degree from Florida State University College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee. Edwards has written numerous articles and spoken at both public and private seminars on employment law topics, including wage and hour trends, discrimination, workplace harassment and bullying, and mediation and arbitration.
The award-winning Created Equal program builds on the success of previous events and continues to encourage frank conversations on race and racial inequity. Citizens will be invited to join the discussion during roundtable conversations after the panel.
To register for this free event, visit LeonCountyFL.gov/CreatedEqual.
For more information, contact Mathieu Cavell, Leon County Community and Media Relations, at 850-606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov.
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