A voice at the Table | An open letter to Tabletop Media Group

TableTop Media Group,

These last two weeks have been extremely hard for me and my family. We were struggling with the new climate of Covid- 19 and then the world set on fire right before our eyes; both figuratively and in real life. Shortly before that my 6-year-old broke his arm. We wrestled with the racial injustices among black and brown people and I personally struggled to find where my voice was most needed.

So, when asked how can a particular person or organization help? My first thought is to pray, my second thought is to use your voice, my third thought is to find where your seat is at the table and lastly, what you are willing to add to the Tabletop. Not everyone can bring the turkey, not everyone can bring the green beans, but we can all bring something. When we think about the racial injustices among black and brown people the conversation of injustices can't exist without speaking about poverty & food disparities in our country and how poor people are still going to bed hungry among many other issues. So, my request will be to find those neighbors that are vulnerable invite them to local restaurants and ask their opinion on different cuisines and what their thoughts are; allow them to have a seat at the table; allow them to enjoy a true filling Tabletop experience.

I think it is important that we shed light on those Black Businesses that provide us with some of the most delicious foods. In the media world, they are often overlooked and under shared. We can engage in thoughtful forward-moving conversations that spark healthy dialogue around black issues while eating in these spaces.

I am an Arkansas native and I joined the Raleigh community 8 years ago. I am a Christian, a mother, a wife, and a friend. I am currently walking through life finding my voice. My blog, The Banana Moon reflects that; I cover a multitude of topics that are all my own thoughts and experiences one, in particular, being Food. Food is the thing that fuels us, brings us together and merges so many different cultures. It is the one thing we can all find commonality in.

Thank you so much TableTop Media Group for inviting my voice to the table.

Sincerely,

Kiara Ruth

Below you will find a few different resources that my family and I have used

Organizations:

Justice Love Foundation

Forward Justice

Poor Peoples Campaign