The 1st African-American Graduate of the Culinary Institute of America

Excerpt

Why People treat me the way they do? is an autobiography that tells the life story of culinary pioneer Jefferson Evans. Chef Evans’ story of growing up during the early stages of the modern civil rights era of the USA helps inform the reader of what it took to become a chef, as a person of color, during this time period. Jefferson Evans is an unsung hero of the civil rights movement and the breaking down of the barriers that existed for people color in the culinary, hospitality, and tourism industry. He is a man that has witnessed the change in the world’s perspective of people of color in the culinary industry as well as the evolution of African-Americans from the civil rights movement to the election of the first black president of the USA. He dealt with trials and tribulations of racial prejudice as a student of the first class attending the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). He encountered similar issues upon returning to his alma mater as the first black culinary instructor of the school as well as Johnson and Wales University. Chef Jefferson Evans passed away on January 4th, 2018 in New Haven, Connecticut. …