An Evening with Black Forager (In-Person)

This conversation was recording Friday, April 12. Registrants have access to the recording until Monday, April 29. Become a member to have continuous access.

Alexis Nikole Nelson aka Black Forager uses her platform to engage with millions—yelling, singing, and celebrating the hidden bounty of edible plants waiting to be found in our backyards, on our nature hikes, growing from our sidewalks and in our parks across the world.

In her life and work she reframes the world of food, excitedly asking us to slow down, and (safely!) explore the sustainable and delicious food choices all around us. Elemental to her work is the importance of marginalized histories, peeling back the historical food layers of Black, African, and Indigenous food traditions that have often been repressed. Through her work she seeks to empower everyone around the world—in food deserts and beyond—to learn about, grow, cook, and enjoy food in an accessible way.

Join us for an engaging and joyful evening of conversation with Alexis and CIIS associate professor, activist, and licensed creative arts therapist Britton Williams. In their conversation they take us on an exploration of Alexis’ life and work, food justice and foraging, and on a journey through the woods and oceans in search of edible plants to enrich palates and the planet.
 

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Alexis Nikole Nelson is a forager and an outdoor educator using her platform to yell, sing and celebrate all the edible plants hiding in plain sight! She invites all who will come on the foraging journey of collecting, identifying, and eating wild food. Alexis has also cooked up quite a few awards, receiving the James Beard Award for “Best Social Media” 2022, being chosen for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, being chosen as a TikTok Tastemaker, and being honored as part of Fortune Magazine’s Creator 25 in 2021.

With 5 million followers joining Alexis on the adventure, she reframes the world of food, asking us to consider tastefully satiating and environmentally sustainable food choices. She also peels back historical layers on African American and Indigenous food traditions that have traditionally been repressed.

Whether Alexis is teaching audiences which seaweeds are delish or turning acorns into cheese, she does so with a song and a smile. Her comedic lessons and videos direct audiences to freely accessible food options and demonstrations of tasty dishes.

While delivered in a light-hearted manner, Alexis’ content has empowered those living in food deserts with greater self- sufficiency – which is no laughing matter.

Nelson takes audiences into the woods and to the oceans in search of edible plants to enrich their palates and the planet.

As Alexis would say, happy snacking, don’t die!
 

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Britton Williams, PhD, LCAT, RDT-BCT is a Black woman. Drama Therapist. Artist. Activist. Storyteller. She is a multitude of hyphens, contradictions, and ands. She is an educator and student. A thinker and dreamer. She is deeply and urgently concerned with the possibilities that live with/in radical (re)imagining and the inextricable connectedness of healing and liberation.  

As a licensed creative arts therapist (LCAT), Britton has a private practice based in New York. Additionally, she is an Associate Professor in the Drama Therapy Program at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and an Adjunct Professor in the Program in Drama Therapy at New York University (NYU). Her research project, The Black MAP Project: A Black People’s Epistemology of Healing, lifts the history and trajectory of Black creative healing and seeks to historicize and (re)imagine mental health care for Black people(s) through a liberatory lens. 

About The First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

The First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco is a welcoming community to all who seek a congregation grounded in love, committed to caring for one another, supporting one other in spiritual growth, and dedicated to building a compassionate, just and sustainable world. Learn more about the UUSF at their website.

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Accessibility

If you need to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@ciis.edu at least one week prior to the event. For more information, explore our Accessibility web page.

Recording Policy

This event will be recorded, but access to the recording will only available to those who purchased tickets. All tickets (in-person and online) include access to the recorded livestream for two weeks. Access to the recording will expire on April 29, 2024. CIIS Public Programs Members will have unlimited access to this recording.

Refund Policy

All tickets and donations for this event are nonrefundable. If you can no longer attend the in-person event, we encourage you to watch the livestream or the recording instead.