Jul 12, 2021
You’re listening to a special-edition, three-part podcast series
about Charleston’s Schützenfest, a mid-19th-century German gun and
beer festival that initially was a diverse and welcoming
environment, but which gradually evolved into a site of white
supremacy.
In our first two episodes, we delved deeper into both the history
of the fest itself and the kinds of beer you might see around
Charleston in the 19th century. Now we’ll take a more contemporary
view by talking to people living in, advocating for, and brewing in
Charleston today.
First, I speak with a childhood mentor of mine, Mr. Sammy Backman.
Mr. Sammy isn’t a brewer. He runs Backman’s Seafood, and has spent
more than 50 years fishing South Carolina’s coast. The same
fundamental forces that transformed the Schützenfest have followed
Mr. Sammy’s boats his whole life. But in turn, he’s thriving, and
he’s taught me since my childhood about the indelible mark Gullah
Geechee communities continue to make on Charleston life.
Next, I catch up with KJ Kearney, host of Black Food Fridays on
Instagram, who’s worked tirelessly to help Gullah Geechee
communities be better recognized and included in the Holy City. On
his Instagram series, KJ educates fellow Charlestonians about Black
food traditions by preserving Gullah foodways and history. We talk
about the power of food and beverage history to erode racial
barriers, our love for (and our frustrations with) Charleston, and
KJ’s work to make things better.
Finally, I talk with Jaime Tenny of Charleston’s own Coast Brewing
Company. She discusses her brewery’s need to better include new
communities, and how much learning she still needs to do before
that’s possible. As our conversation shows, many breweries don’t
know how to foster authentic inclusion within their spaces, even if
they do know that it’s on them to learn.
Join us in finishing our journey through the Schützenfest, Charleston, and the centuries-long work of racial oppression. Here’s 60-year Charleston native—and part of my village—Mr. Sammy Backman.