Fighting Erasure and Honoring the Influence of Black Cuisine
Ask students: What is High on the Hog? Who is High on the Hog about? Why did the show’s creators make High on the Hog according to this segment?
The Impact of African-American Food
High on the Hog tells the sweeping history of African-American food — first as a book and now in a highly acclaimed four-part series on Netflix. Special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault talked with some of the show’s creative team about why this approach has sparked such interest. The story is part of the PBS “Race Matters” series and the arts and culture series, CANVAS. Read the summary, watch the video and answer the discussion questions below. To view the full video and transcript, click here.
Discussion Questions: High on the Hog
- What is High on the Hog?
- Who is High on the Hog about?
- Why did the show’s creators make High on the Hog according to this segment?
- Where and When do High on the Hog stories take place?
- How do the executive producers of the show hope that High on the Hog will impact its viewers?
Focus Questions:High on the Hog was created to prevent erasure of acknowledgment of the Black influence on American cuisine. Why do you think the producers thought that was an important goal?
Media Literacy: What does this news piece want you to think about? What might somebody learn from this? Do you think the type of media they used directly influenced what takeaways you might remember more?
Dig Deeper: High on the Hog on Netflix
- To see the full trailer for the Netflix series, click here.
- See this article for an excerpt from the High on the Hog book.
- For more on black cuisine and its influence on the current food culture in America, see these videos:
Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Extra.
PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories.
