Christopher Dana Lynn

Katherine Chiou and Rebecca Totten, Co-PIs. The calcaneus soil of the Black Belt is directly related to the rich US plantation system, chattel slavery, and agricultural boom that made the modern United States. That soil continues to exert an influence on everything from hemp farming to geophagy. Through the proposed study, we will consider the ethnomedical practice of eating kaolin (aka, white, sour, and red dirt) among the modern residents of the Black Belt. The Black Belt is a geographic and sociocultural region stretching from Western Tennessee down through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and stretching up to Virginia. The region is characterized by rich soil, which is due to the kaolin underneath, but also food and water insecurity, high rates of strokes and cardiovascular disease, and poor healthcare access. Some Black and White residents of the region are known to eat kaolin, which can be purchased on the Internet and local stores. It is unclear if people eat the dirt locally available to them, how varied the dirt composition is, and how effective the dirt is when taken as self-medication. It is clear from preliminary research that compositions vary widely, and that people eat it for self-medication, for taste, and out of habit.