What is a monument but a standing memory? An artifact to make tangible the truth of the past. My body and blood are a tangible truth of the South and its past. The black people I come from were owned by the white people I come from. The white people I come from fought and died for their Lost Cause. And I ask you now, who dares to tell me to celebrate them? Who dares to ask me to accept their mounted pedestals?

You cannot dismiss me as someone who doesn’t understand. You cannot say it wasn’t my family members who fought and died. My blackness does not put me on the other side of anything. It puts me squarely at the heart of the debate. I don’t just come from the South. I come from Confederates. I’ve got rebel-gray blue blood coursing my veins. My great-grandfather Will was raised with the knowledge that Edmund Pettus was his father. Pettus, the storied Confederate general, the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, the man for whom Selma’s Bloody Sunday Bridge is named. So I am not an outsider who makes these demands. I am a great-great-granddaughter.

Caroline Randall Williams "You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument" NY Times Op-Ed (2020)


Such is the powerful, articulate, unabashed voice of guest, Caroline Randall Williams, whose family roots display an impressive cultural richness. She is the daughter of best-selling author Alice Randall, with whom she co-wrote the award-winning Soul Food Love cookbook and Avon WilliamsIII, a well-known former diplomat who served as acting Principal Deputy Counsel of the Department of the Army, and first cousin to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Caroline's grandfather was a prominent civil rights lawyer and former Tennessee state senator, Avon N. WIlliams Jr.. She is also the great-granddaughter of scholar Arna W. Bontemps, the African-American poet, novelist and noted member of the Harlem Renaissance. Yet this cultural royalty is juxtaposed against her DNA verified results. She is the great-great granddaughter of Edmund Pettus, US senator of Alabama, senior officer of the Confederate States Army and grand dragon of the Klu Klux Klan. 

A gifted writer, Caroline is able to bridge history with current conditions, articulating it in a way that causes you to sit there shaking your head and say, those are the right words. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Caroline is a multi-genre writer, educator, performance artist, and Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University. As the host of the new Discovery+ show Hungry For Answers (produced by Viola Davis), Caroline travels the United States uncovering the fascinating, essential and often untold Black stories behind American food.

Join me, your host Brad Johnson, at the corner table for an explorative conversation with Caroline discussing her heritage, accomplishments and pursuits, along with acknowledgement of privilege, self-expectation and thoughts on contemporary issues, connecting the past with the present. 

* * *

Instagram: Corner Table Talk  and Post and Beam Hospitality

LinkedIn: Brad Johnson

Medium: Corner Table Media

E.Mail:  brad@postandbeamhospitality.com

For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

Theme Music: Bryce Vine

Corner Table™ is a trademark of Post & Beam Hospitality LLC

© Post & Beam Hospitality LLC

What is a monument but a standing memory? An artifact to make tangible the truth of the past. My body and blood are a tangible truth of the South and its past. The black people I come from were owned by the white people I come from. The white people I come from fought and died for their Lost Cause. And I ask you now, who dares to tell me to celebrate them? Who dares to ask me to accept their mounted pedestals? You cannot dismiss me as someone who doesn’t understand. You cannot say it wasn’t my family members who fought and died. My blackness does not put me on the other side of anything. It puts me squarely at the heart of the debate. I don’t just come from the South. I come from Confederates. I’ve got rebel-gray blue blood coursing my veins. My great-grandfather Will was raised with the knowledge that Edmund Pettus was his father. Pettus, the storied Confederate general, the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, the man for whom Selma’s Bloody Sunday Bridge is named. So I am not an outsider who makes these demands. I am a great-great-granddaughter. Caroline Randall Williams "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/confederate-monuments-racism.html">You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument" </a> NY Times Op-Ed (2020)
 Such is the powerful, articulate, unabashed voice of guest, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/caroranwill/?hl=en">Caroline Randall Williams</a>, whose family roots display an impressive cultural richness. She is the daughter of best-selling author <a href="https://www.instagram.com/msalicerandall/?hl=en">Alice Randall</a>, with whom she co-wrote the award-winning Soul Food Love cookbook and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/07/19/army-general-counsel-avon-williams-iii-dies/1b4cbcbe-63fe-4a6d-8216-0d7e5cef484d/">Avon Williams</a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/07/19/army-general-counsel-avon-williams-iii-dies/1b4cbcbe-63fe-4a6d-8216-0d7e5cef484d/"> </a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/07/19/army-general-counsel-avon-williams-iii-dies/1b4cbcbe-63fe-4a6d-8216-0d7e5cef484d/">III</a>, a well-known former diplomat who served as acting Principal Deputy Counsel of the Department of the Army, and first cousin to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/history/thurgood-marshall/">Thurgood Marshall</a>. Caroline's grandfather was a prominent civil rights lawyer and former Tennessee state senator, <a href="https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/avon-n-williams-jr/">Avon N. WIlliams Jr.</a>. She is also the great-granddaughter of scholar <a href="https://poets.org/poet/arna-bontemps">Arna W. Bontemps</a>, the African-American poet, novelist and noted member of the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance">Harlem Renaissance</a>. Yet this cultural royalty is juxtaposed against her DNA verified results. She is the great-great granddaughter of <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-edmund-pettus-180954501/">Edmund Pettus</a>, US senator of Alabama, senior officer of the Confederate States Army and grand dragon of the Klu Klux Klan.  A gifted writer, Caroline is able to bridge history with current conditions, articulating it in a way that causes you to sit there shaking your head and say, those are the right words. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Caroline is a multi-genre writer, educator, performance artist, and Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University. As the host of the new Discovery+ show <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/viola-davis-black-food-series-caroline-randall-williams-1235237456/">Hungry For Answers</a> (produced by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/violadavis/?hl=en">Viola Davis</a>), Caroline travels the United States uncovering the fascinating, essential and often untold Black stories behind American food. Join me, your host <a href="https://www.instagram.com/postandbeamhospitality/">Brad Johnson</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/postandbeamhospitality/"> </a>, at the corner table for an explorative conversation with Caroline discussing her heritage, accomplishments and pursuits, along with acknowledgement of privilege, self-expectation and thoughts on contemporary issues, connecting the past with the present. 
* * *
Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cornertabletalk/?hl=en">Corner Table Talk</a>  and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/postandbeamhospitality/?hl=en">Post and Beam Hospitality</a>
LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-johnson-hospitality/">Brad Johnson</a>
Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@cornertablemedia">Corner Table Media</a>
E.Mail:  <a href="mailto:brad@postandbeamhospitality.com">brad@postandbeamhospitality.com</a>
For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: <a href="https://postandbeamhospitality.com/">https://postandbeamhospitality.com/</a>
Theme Music: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brycevine/?hl=en">Bryce Vine</a>
Corner Table™ is a trademark of Post &amp; Beam Hospitality LLC
© Post &amp; Beam Hospitality LLC

After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation, international speaker, writer, and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and lets us in on some of the interesting people, places, and things that have her attention in HOW WE MOVE.

Brad Johnson’s career in hospitality began in the early 70s in the dish pit of his father’s renowned NYC restaurant, The Cellar, followed by his subsequent storied road creating high profile establishments, from the lavish LA nightclub The Roxbury (yes, that Roxbury) to the Melrose Avenue soulful hotspot, Georgia, and the James Beard Award-nominated Post & Beam.

Instagram: cornertabletalk and postandbeamhospitality

LinkedIn: Brad Johnson Hospitality

E.Mail:  brad@postandbeamhospitality.com

For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

Theme Music: Bryce Vine

Corner Table™ is a trademark of Post & Beam Hospitality LLC

After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation, international speaker, writer, and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and lets us in on some of the interesting people, places, and things that have her attention in HOW WE MOVE.
<hr>
Brad Johnson’s career in hospitality began in the early 70s in the dish pit of his father’s renowned NYC restaurant, The Cellar, followed by his subsequent storied road creating high profile establishments, from the lavish LA nightclub The Roxbury (yes, that Roxbury) to the Melrose Avenue soulful hotspot, Georgia, and the James Beard Award-nominated Post &amp; Beam.
<hr>
Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cornertabletalk/?hl=en">cornertabletalk</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/postandbeamhospitality/?hl=en">postandbeamhospitality</a>
LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-johnson-hospitality/">Brad Johnson Hospitality</a>      <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-johnson-hospitality/"></a>
E.Mail:  <a href="mailto:brad@postandbeamhospitality.com">brad@postandbeamhospitality.com</a>
For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: <a href="https://postandbeamhospitality.com/">https://postandbeamhospitality.com/</a>
Theme Music: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brycevine/?hl=en">Bryce Vine</a>
Corner Table™ is a trademark of Post &amp; Beam Hospitality LLC

Corner Table Talk

After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation, international speaker, writer, and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and lets us in on some of the interesting people, places, and things that have her attention in HOW WE MOVE.

Brad Johnson’s career in hospitality began in the early 70s in the dish pit of his father’s renowned NYC restaurant, The Cellar, followed by his subsequent storied road creating high profile establishments, from the lavish LA nightclub The Roxbury (yes, that Roxbury) to the Melrose Avenue soulful hotspot, Georgia, and the James Beard Award-nominated Post & Beam.

Instagram: cornertabletalk and postandbeamhospitality

LinkedIn: Brad Johnson

E.Mail:  brad@postandbeamhospitality.com

For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

Theme Music: Bryce Vine

Corner Table™ is a trademark of Post & Beam Hospitality LLC

After years of lowering the velvet rope and pulling out chairs on both coasts for countless guests, Brad Johnson puts his warm, present and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics spanning FOOD + DRINK + CULTURE. Following the guest conversation, international speaker, writer, and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and lets us in on some of the interesting people, places, and things that have her attention in HOW WE MOVE.
<hr>
Brad Johnson’s career in hospitality began in the early 70s in the dish pit of his father’s renowned NYC restaurant, The Cellar, followed by his subsequent storied road creating high profile establishments, from the lavish LA nightclub The Roxbury (yes, that Roxbury) to the Melrose Avenue soulful hotspot, Georgia, and the James Beard Award-nominated Post &amp; Beam.
<hr>
Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cornertabletalk/?hl=en">cornertabletalk</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/postandbeamhospitality/?hl=en">postandbeamhospitality</a>
LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-johnson-hospitality/">Brad Johnson</a>      <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-johnson-hospitality/"></a>
E.Mail:  <a href="mailto:brad@postandbeamhospitality.com">brad@postandbeamhospitality.com</a>
For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: <a href="https://postandbeamhospitality.com/">https://postandbeamhospitality.com/</a>
Theme Music: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brycevine/?hl=en">Bryce Vine</a>
Corner Table™ is a trademark of Post &amp; Beam Hospitality LLC

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