The James Beard Foundation on Wednesday announced their 2022 Media Award Nominees and two Charlestonians were included. The media awards recognize outstanding achievements in Book, Broadcast Media, and Journalism.
North Charleston native KJ Kearney (right) was nominated in the “Social Media Account” category for his Black Food Fridays project, which he created during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to encourage the world to support Black-owned restaurants, chefs, caterers, and producers every Friday. It has since grown to an account where Kearney shares Black food history and the best dishes, desserts, drinks, and people in Black-owned businesses. You can learn more about Black Food Fridays at blackfoodfridays.com, on TikTok, and on Instagram.
Jamaal Lemon, a Charleston native, was nominated in the “Feature Reporting” category for “Tek Cyear uh de Root,” his three-part series about Charleston’s beer culture and history that appeared on Good Beer Hunting. You can read the series via the following links:
- Part One – The Schützenfest, Black Endurance, and Beer Culture in Old South Charleston
- Part Two – The Deliberate Reconstruction of the Charleston Schützenfest
- Part Three – The Lost Potential of Charleston Beer
The 2022 James Beard Media Award winner will be announced on Saturday, June 11th in Chicago.
You can view the entire list of nominees here.
