Right Place, Right Time: My Experience Documenting the Preserve the Pit Program
Many people underestimate the value of mentorship. Even more, people underestimate the value of having the right mentor, in addition to having the right community around them. I did not fully appreciate their value until I had the opportunity to document this year's class of participants for the Kingsford Preserve the Pit program during a trip to barbecue's premiere event -- the Memphis in May festival.
Like many other fields, the contributions of the Black community are often overlooked, something I was only somewhat aware of until I found myself immersed in the process of documenting and creating content as an assignment I took on this year.
Much of the conversation around our community focuses on correcting injustices or oversights, but what I found through my immersion in this project is how much of the story of this community is often not highlighted. For whatever reason (and I have quite a few guesses), the broader society focuses on the struggles of our community, rather than on what we as a community has to say, contribute, and the value we bring to society. Unfortunately, there are too many people focused on platforming black faces only to bristle when they hear black voices.
If you know, you know.
There is a huge need for representation, and my time spent with the members of the Preserve the Pit program highlighted just that. Through fellowship, fiery dialogues, and late-night conversations, I gained valuable insight into the actual value that comes from mentorship and having a strong, supportive community to lean on. Espeically for those who are navigating the murky waters of business ownership.
Kingsford Preserve the Pit - Class of 2023
The Preserve the Pit Fellowship
During my assignment, I had the pleasure of traveling with Rasheed Philips, a black entrepreneur and 2023 Preserve the Pit class mentor. Rasheed took the initiative to speak with and document the events of the 2023 Preserve the Pit meetup in Mephis for the Memphis in May festivities. This gave us a unique opportunity to speak to and interview many mentees from the class, providing a great amount of insight into what a small business owner truly values and needs in order not only to survive but flourish.
Whether it be his own mentee, Miss Deah Berry Mitchell, a black historian based out of the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area, or The Mr. Darren W. Carter of Cleveland, Ohio, he was willing to share knowledge with anyone who would listen. It just so happens I could listen through the course of documentation and creation.
Black Historians
Meeting Mr. Carter
These two mentees stand out because of their passion for documenting black culinary history, which is not well-known. The previous year, in Corsicana, Texas, Rasheed had tasked Mr. Carter with continuing along his journey of documenting black pitmasters via his project, The Unknowns: Black Pitmasters.
The Unknowns were a group of black men and women who tended the pits during slavery. As Mr. Carter would say, we knew these individuals were there, but no one knows who they were. Mr. Carter learned about these historical figures when he first began researching the field of barbecue, looking for someone who he thought represented his community.
What he found was a lack of black faces being featured in the "Most Influential" articles in major publications. These were publications like such as Southern Living and Fox News. This spurred Mr. Carter to create the group inspired by The Unknowns.
This year, when we caught up with Mr. Carter, he was noticeably different in both his knowledge and presentation, highlighting many black pitmasters you probably do not know about. But you're going to know about them, if he has anything to say about it.
Because in his opinion, representation matters. Sometimes, representation is the spark for someone who feels they are unable to accomplish something they never knew they belonged in. Sometimes we need to see other people who have blazed a trail and shown it is possible for others from the communities they are from to do so as well.
In a similar vein, he also spoke about having a community that is willing to take time out of their busy schedule to guide, connect, and enlighten others. Fast-forward to this year, another opportunity to presented itself to do just that.
Mrs. Deah Berry Mitchell's Quest for Discovery
Now, Deah is another black historian who owns a bus tour in Dallas called Soul of DFW Tours. This tour takes people around the Dallas area and introduces them to black establishments, talking about their history. Her profession as a journalist puts her in a prime position to document and tell the stories of notable black people in the community.
At the Memphis in May Festival grounds, Rasheed and Deah shared an inspirational conversation about the value of help. Not just any help -- the right type of help. When they sat down to talk, Rasheed asked Deah a simple question.
"What is it you hope to get out of being part of this program?"
Deah replied with a simple request. "To learn from you about how I can grow my brand." No sooner than she asked, Rasheed took her for an introduction to just those right people. He took her right to the festival tent for The Home Depot, one of Rasheed's corporate partners, to introduce Deah to one of their marketing executives. After a quick meet-and-greet, they exchanged contact information and made a connection. This is what the genuine help and value of mentorship can look like.
The following day, we caught up with Deah to talk about the experience. She was thankful, not just for the connections made but for the expedient nature in which they happened. Within a single weekend, Deah got much more out of the mentorship than she could have imagined.
Late Night Chats
This was just one of many moments I witnessed throughout the course of the weekend. One more impactful conversation happened in the lobby of The Hu hotel late into a Saturday evening. Many Preserve the Pit participants had retreated to the lobby after the hotel's rooftop bar had closed. This allowed everyone to get candid about the struggles and the responsibility of being a black business owner.
Whether it was rousing speeches by Rasheed, Bryan Furman, or Rashad Jones, the words spoken were fiery and unfiltered. The mentors wanted there to be no illusions about the difficulty of the road ahead and the perseverance needed to travel it. There were moments such as Bryan stressing the importance of not just taking business deals and opportunities but seizing the right opportunities. Opportunities that did not require the mentees to sacrifice their power and ownership just to get marginal gains.
The audience was captivated by Rasheed as he delivered a message about making the sacrifice and having the steadfastness to ensure that those relying on the mentees would have an option -- the option to decide whether they were willing to sacrifice so their future generations could inherit a want to instead of a have to.
The Preserve the Pit members posing for a picture at The Hu hotel bar.
To paraphrase, "You have to be willing and unselfish enough to take on the challenge of doing what you have to so that your children and family will inherit a want to. "
The difference between the two being forced into circumstances versus having the flexibility to choose those circumstances. He implored the mentees to understanding the challenge and facing it head on so that they could hand the option down to other people in the future.
Unfortunately, I can't do the message justice. You kind of had to be there. But if you were there, I'm sure you will never forget the impact of those words.
My Takeaway
Overall, this was a fantastic experience. One I am glad to have been a spectator to and one I hope can continue to be delivered to others going forward. In a time when organizations are willing to spend money on black causes, or any other cause, as a clever marketing tool, I am glad to have witnessed the true impact that can be felt when people are genuinely invested in watching another community flourish.
Not through lackluster efforts and throwaway marketing dollars but through well-thought-out efforts that can have a truly empowering impact.
