Barbecued ribs, black-eyed peas, sweet potato pie, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried chicken—the incredible variety of delicious soul food dishes only begins here. We’re talking serious comfort food, and a menu that lies at the heart of African-American cultural identity. But the Southern-based diet, called a “slave diet” by the Nation of Islam, has also been blamed for the high rates of heart disease and stroke among African Americans in the United States due to unhealthy ingredients and a deep, abiding love for the power of the frying pan. ‘Soul Food Junkies,’ a new documentary by Byron Hurt, addresses the health effects of the soul food diet and the way it connects to the socioeconomics of the modern American diet. The program is part of the Rialto Cinemas’ free Community Cinema film series; a discussion panel follows the film, featuring Evelyn Cheatham of Worth Our Weight, James Cason of the SRJC Culinary Institute and Nancy Rogers of the Red Rose Cafe. Upcoming films in the series include The Powerbroker, a film about National Urban League leader Whitney M. Young Jr. (Feb. 12), Wonder Woman! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which explores how pop culture’s representations of powerful women reflect societal anxieties about women’s liberation (March 12). Soul Food Junkies screens Tuesday, Jan. 8, at Rialto Cinemas. 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. 7pm. Free. 707.525.4840.
