The Potluck Protest: Dallas organizer wants to feed the movement and bring together black-owned food businesses

Jeziel Jones was with a group of protesters on Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge on June 1. He was arrested and quickly released along with many others that night, when the Dallas Police Department used a controversial crowd-control method called kettling that trapped protesters on the bridge. That event, along with the DPD’s use of other tactics, has led to criticism, use-of-force investigations, and talk of reform.

The 29-year-old software engineer and Garland native posted on Facebook the next day: “There’s still a lot more to do. A lot more conversations to be had.”

He says he made a joke with a fellow protester that night that maybe they should just throw a potluck and have some food. He shortly found himself in similar conversations, and the idea for The Potluck Protest was born.

“When you go out to these protests, you see a lot of passion, but I’m curious if sometimes we are not engaging as many people as possible,” he says. He thinks food is a way to bring more people into the movement. “When you share a meal with someone, it’s humbling, it’s a shared experience,” he adds. “There’s some intimacy involved.”

Jones will host The Potluck Protest from 3 to 6 p.m. June 13 at Reverchon Park in Dallas, following a protest scheduled at 1 p.m. at the same location hosted by the Next Generation Action Network. Jones is still getting the lineup set, but there will be food by black-owned restaurants and food trucks, and discussion with community leaders. Attendees can buy food directly from vendors, and Jones is also setting up a fundraiser that will directly benefit restaurants as well as support families in need of groceries. Wearing face coverings is recommended, and vendors will be practicing social distancing.

“The true goal here would be to create a nexus point, something everyone can agree with," he says. “You kind of narrow in on something that’s nonpartisan. Everyone wants to be connected to helping others have access to food. ... That should be a message that anyone with a heart would want to be involved with.”

And while this is the first event we’ve seen like this in Dallas lately, Jones says that food has historically played a large role in the civil rights movement.

“An army doesn’t march on its feet, it marches on its stomach,” he says, echoing the words of Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the 1960s, legendary leaders such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis broke bread and strategized at Paschal’s restaurant in Atlanta, and in Montgomery, Ala., leaders met at the home of Georgia Gilmore, who launched an impromptu restaurant after she lost her job as a cafeteria cook because of her role in the movement. Leaders held meetings at her home, and she also led the Club From Nowhere, a group of women who sold baked goods and used the money to pay for transportation for those who wanted to boycott the segregated bus system.

There’s been renewed mainstream interest in black-owned restaurants and the role of food in the black community in recent weeks. Many publications have produced a list of eateries to support (see our list below), and the DFW Black-Owned Restaurants public Facebook group, which was created just a week ago, already has more than 130,000 members. But it’s obviously nothing new, and local black food journalists in North Texas including Dalila Thomas of Starving on a Budget and Deah Berry Mitchell, who both run the Soul of DFW Food and Black History bus tours, as well as Brandi Barnett of Brandi’s Foodie Diary, have been dedicated to covering food in the black community for years.

But it’s about more than just breaking bread or buying from black-owned restaurants. Food is intertwined with farming and land ownership, in addition to housing, education and health.

“When you have land, you have stability,” Jones says. “It’s been a very calculated disenfranchisement, a calculated routing of everything that is supposed to bring stability to a community."

Jones is particularly interested in helping farmers. Black farmers lost 80 percent of their farmland from 1910 to 2007, according to the Center for American Progress. That decline is the result of racist policies, discrimination and legally sanctioned theft.

The lack of access to land is a big part of the racial wealth gap in the U.S. According to the Brookings Institution, that gap has actually increased in the last 70 years. At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family was nearly 10 times greater than that of a black family ($17,150) in 2016.

Other policies such as redlining have excluded black Americans from owning homes. Segregation crushed opportunities and mobility, and blacks have historically been excluded from other forms of opportunity for Americans like the New Deal, the GI Bill, and higher education. Black families have further suffered in subsequent recessions, and they suffer not only economically but physically, as we’ve seen in reports about the disproportional impact of COVID-19 on black communities.

But none of this is new information, so why does the movement feel different this time? Jones thinks the pandemic has played a role.

“People are at home, furloughed, some laid off and receiving unemployment. People have the energy,” he says. “The 40-hour workweek completely drains you and crushes your will. The system extracts your passion and your dreams, it extracts your energy. How many other movements would have happened if people weren’t completely demoralized?”

To learn more about The Protest Potluck, visit facebook.com/thepotluckprotest.

Black-owned restaurants in North Texas:

Aunt Irene’s Kitchen: 3309 S. Malcolm X Blvd., Dallas. facebook.com/auntireneskitchen/. Owner: Dresha Harrison.

Bam’s Vegan: Dallas Farmers Market, 920 S. Harwood Street. instagram.com/bamsvegan. Owner: Brandon Waller.

Black Coffee: 417 Vaughn Blvd., Fort Worth. blackcoffeefw.com. Owner: Mia Moss.

Brunchaholics: Location varies. brunchaholics.com. Owner: Jessie Washington.

Burger IM: 1722 N. Market Street, Dallas. facebook.com/BurgerimWestend/. Owner: Wes Williams

Carnell’s Cakery: 3911 S. Lancaster Road, Suite 100A, Dallas. facebook.com/CarnellsCakery1/. Owner: Carnell Culpepper.

Carver 150: 12201 Merit Drive, Suite 150, Dallas. carverdfw.com. Owner: Fana Yohannes.

Cherry’s Seafood and More: 4767 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas; 1908 Oates Drive, Mesquite. instagram.com/cherryseafoodandmore. Owner: Gabrielle Cherry.

Cookie Society: 9320 Dallas Parkway, Suite 160, Frisco. cookiesociety.com. Owner: Marisa Allen.

Da Munchies: 4121 N. Westmoreland Road, Dallas. damunchiesdfw.com. Owner: Angela Alexander-Brown.

Daddy Mac’s Chicken: 1050 N. Westmoreland Road, Dallas. daddymacschicken.com.

Damian’s Cajun Soul Cafe: 2001 SE Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington. facebook.com/damianscajunsoulcafe/.

Dough Boy Donuts: 4910 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. doughboydonutsdfw.com. Owner: Melvin Roberson.

Elaine’s Kitchen: 2717 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas. facebook.com/ElainesJamaicanKitchen/.

Hall’s Honey Fried Chicken: 1407 Medical District Drive, Dallas. hallshoneyfriedchicken-md.com. Owner: Mackenzie Hall.

Invasion: 4029 Crutcher Street. eatinvasions.com. Owners: Airric Heidelberg and Agon Raka.

Itso Vegan: 830 Mayfield Road, Suite 600, Grand Prairie. itsovegan.com. Owners: Tren’a Lewis, Amiya Cleveland and Jerrod Collins.

Kessler Baking Studio: 1129 N. Beckley Ave., Dallas. kesslerbakingstudio.com. Owner: Clyde Greenhouse

Loft 22 Cakes: 106 E. Daggett Ave., Fort Worth. loft22cakes.com. Owner: Tareka Lofton

Ms. Mary’s Southern Kitchen: 1500 W. Hebron Parkway #102, Carrollton. msmaryssouthernkitchen.com. Owner: Mary Davis.

Off the Bone Barbecue, 1734 South Lamar Street, Dallas. offthebonebarbeque.com. Owner: Dwight Harvey.

Peace Love & Eatz: 324 E. Belt Line Road #205, DeSoto. peaceloveeatz.com. Owner: James McGee.

Plain Ole Salsa Company: Dallas Farmers Market, 920 S. Harwood Street. plainolesalsa.com. Owner: Myron Callier.

Recipe Oak Cliff: 1831 S Ewing Ave, Dallas. recipeoc.com. Owner: Tisha Crear.

Roots Chicken Shak: 7800 Windrose Ave, Plano (Legacy Food Hall). facebook.com/rootschickenshak/. Owner: Tiffany Derry.

Rudy’s Chicken: 3115 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas. facebook.com/Rudys-Chicken. Owner: Rudolph Edwards.

Sankofa Kitchen: 3333 W. Camp Wisdom Road #118, Dallas. sankofakitchen.com. Owner: Damond Fields.

Shells and Tails 2 Geaux: 324 E. Belt Line Road, DeSoto. shellsandtails2geaux.com. Owner: Jermaine Paddio

Shoals Sound & Service: 2614 Elm Street, Suite 110, Dallas. facebook.com/shoalsdeepellum/. Owner: Omar Yeefoon.

Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que: 1820 W Mockingbird Lane, Dallas. smokeyjohns.com. Owners: Brent and Juan Reaves.

Simply Soul Food Catering & Fine Foods: mysimplysoulfood.com.

Soulgood: 520 Shepherd Dr, Garland. eatsoulgood.com. Owner: Cynthia Nevels

Sweet Georgia Brown: 2840 E. Ledbetter Drive, Dallas. facebook.com/Sweet-Georgia-Brown-Soul-Food-Eatn.

The Cake Bar: 3011 Gulden Lane Suite 117, Dallas. cakebardallas.com. Owner: Tracy German

The Island Spot: 309 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas and 2661 Midway Road # 105, Carrollton. island-spot.com.

TLC Vegan Kitchen: 520 Shepherd Dr #10, Garland. tlcvegankitchen.com. Owner: Troy Gardner

Turkey Leg Paradise: 1715 S. Lamar Street, Dallas. turkeylegparadise.com. Owner: Corey Bradley.

Val's Cheesecakes: 3906 Maple Ave. and 2820 Greenville Ave. Dallas. valscheesecakes.com. Owner: Val Jean-Bart

Wings World: Multiple locations. wingsworld.info. Owner: Romello Truitt

Winners BBQ: 3200 14th Street, Plano. winnersbbq.com. Owner: De’Andre Jackson.