Take Me Black

Take Me Black Our Food, Our Stories, Our Way Hosted by Chef Marques Clark Take Me Black is more than a podcast—it’s a declaration. Hosted by Chef Marques Clark, a TEDx speaker, national bestselling author, African American foodways steward, and 2018 Poet Laureate of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Museum, this show centers food as memory, resistance, healing, and truth. Each episode reclaims the narratives carried through our kitchens, our hands, and our histories—stories often overlooked, diluted, or made “palatable” for others. Take Me Black is a metaphor. A play on words that boldly says: I will no longer change who I am to fit a mold. Take me Black—accept me as I am. Every part of me. The poor upbringing. The struggle. The meals made from scarcity but seasoned with love. The things I’ve seen, the food I’ve eaten, and the resilience I’ve endured. It is also an invitation to go back—to a time when food was the center stage of our homes. When the kitchen was sacred. When meals meant community, celebration, and survival. When we waited to hear Mama call our names and say, “Come eat.” That sound was love. That was home. That was village. That was tradition. Through conversation, storytelling, poetry, and lived experience, Chef Marques Clark brings listeners back to those roots—where African American foodways are honored not as trends, but as legacy. This is our food. Our stories. Our way. Take Me Black.