Eating in the Side Room

An archaeological study of African American foodways innineteenth-century Annapolis



In Eating in the Side Room,Mark Warner uses the archaeological data of food remains recovered fromexcavations in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Chesapeake to show how AfricanAmericans established identity in the face of pervasive racism andmarginalization.

Bystudying the meat purchasing habits of two African American families—theMaynards and the Burgesses—Warner skillfully demonstrates that whileAfrican Americans were actively participating in a growing mass consumersociety, their food choices subtly yet unequivocally separated them from whitesociety. The "side rooms" where the two families ate their meals notonly satisfied their hunger but also their need to maintain autonomy from anoppressive culture. As a result, Warner claims, the independence that AfricanAmericans practiced during this time helped prepare their children andgrandchildren to overcome persistent challenges of white oppression.



Publication of the paperback edition made possible by a Sustainingthe Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the NationalEndowment for the Humanities.