Sweetness in the Key of Black: Notes on Baking and Belonging

Abstract

Few commodities have shaped and continue to haunt the lives of Black people across the diaspora as much as sugar. Yet, to only view Black people’s relationship to sugar through violent histories and presents is to miss a sweetness—belonging, intimacy, connection—that exceeds it. Inspired by Dionne Brand’s assertion that reclaiming the Black body is an ongoing creative project, this article uses baking as a method toward answering the question, How might we map a distinction between sugar—a product of racial capitalism—and sweetness, a necessary component of Black life?