Our friend and hero John T. Edge knows that there is “Hope in barbecue.”

Check out the great interview from Nightline: Barbecue Heaven

“We have this burden of the past upon us. We’ll deal with that history. But we’re looking for opportunities, we’re looking for places to deal with that history. And I think one great place to deal with that, to sit across from our fellow man, is a barbecue restaurant…I think there’s hope in barbecue.”

From the Southern Foodways Alliance:

SFA friends in South Carolina–Bertha’s Kitchen, of Charleston, and Scott’s BBQ of Hemingway–were featured on ABC’s Nightline over Labor Day weekend.  Click here to learn the stories of these important eateries, and view the full interview with John T Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi.  Food is a common bond that tells us much about who we are, he explains, and the SFA–an institute at UM’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture–works to document, study, and celebrate the diverse food cultures of the changing American South.

In just a few weeks, the SFA will study the Global South at the thirteenth annual October symposium.  Only twenty five tickets remain.  Interested attendees are encouraged to visit the SFA Web site for more information and to register.