In Eating in the Side Room, Mark Warner uses the archaeological data of food remains recovered from excavations in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Chesapeake as a point of departure to examine how material culture shaped African American identity in one of the country’s oldest cities.

Warner skillfully demonstrates how African Americans employed food as a tool for expressing and defending their cultural heritage while living in a society that attempted to ignore and marginalize them. The
side rooms
where the families ate their meals not only satisfied their hunger but also their need to belong. As a result, Warner claims, the independence that African Americans practiced during this time helped prepare their children and grandchildren to overcome greater challenges of white oppression.