Episode 62: Juneteenth Features: Dr. Howard Conyers on The Black History of BBQ

Podcast

Jun 15

Dr. Howard Conyers is an aerospace engineer- a rocket scientist- as well as a renowned pit master, a descendant of Black farmers and pit masters, and an expert historian on the intersections of BBQ and Black culture.

From https://www.howardconyers.com/about Dr. Howard Conyers was born in Manning, South Carolina and has changed the narrative around barbecue and the black hands that molded it’s presence in the culinary world.

After high school, he attended North Carolina A&T State University and earned his BS in Bioenvironmental Engineering. Leaving the historically black university with a perfect GPA, his next step was to further his education at Duke University. He earned his MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Aeroelasticity from the university in 2009.

Howard became an Aerospace Engineer for NASA and dedicated his career to the study of aerospace and design of testing facilities for rocket engines. However, it was not long before Howard ventured back to one of his childhood passions---barbecue. The descendent of farmers and barbecuing masters, he decided to dig deeper into the world of BBQ. What he found was that black people had been erased from its history. Revealing blacks’ BBQ lineage back to slavery, he felt obligated to tell the story. Howard plunged back into preparing BBQ and ultimately traveled around the world-sampling BBQ and gathering stories from pitmasters all over. Howard’s research and fascination earned him a role as host on Nourish, PBS’ food show that highlighted the connection between the culinary and community realms. The feature was just one of many spotlights from the media. He has also been featured in, NY Times, Southern Living, Bon Appetit, The Post and Courier, BBQ Beat, The Nod, The Trip and many more. One of his favorite features was on The Cooking Channel’s Man Fire Food.

The late Zora Neale Hurston once said, “Love makes your soul crawl out of its hiding place.” If the writer’s words ring true, Dr. Howard Conyers’ love for storytelling and BBQ, has liberated the souls and stories hidden in the sauce.

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Episode #62 Notes

0:35 - First off, how did you become a Rocket Scientist?

3:45 - How did your science background influence your interest in BBQ?

7:15 - How and why is the BBQ is such a strong cultural tradition in the black community?

9:30 - On BBQ in Virginia and the birth of BBQ.

15:00 - On Southern Food and how it’s essentially black and indigenous in origin.

18:00 - Authentic BBQ and the techniques used.

20:30 - On the diasporic spread of BBQ techniques.

28:00 - What is the difference between a Chef, a Cook, and a Pitmaster?

33:00 - How does mainstream media white-wash BBQ culture?