German Soul

German Soul: A Live Documentary Experience and Talkback presented by the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival

German Soul is a live documentary experience featuring film, live music, and narration that radically re-examines the origins of Southern food and Black identity. Driven by a lifelong "sensitive stomach" and a nagging family mystery, Grammy-winning musician and ethnobotanist Justin Robinson embarks on a personal quest for culinary truth. From the Carolinas to West Africa and Europe, Robinson seeks the true genealogy of his family recipes, transforming the history of food into a path for reconnection with his ancestors and his body.

Created by Justin Robinson, D.L. Anderson
Produced by D.L. Anderson, Rebekah Fergusson
Music by Justin Robinson, Demeanor
Event time 120 minutes
The experience will feature a talkback discussion facilitated by Dallas-based writer, historian, and cultural preservationist Deah Berry Mitchell.

Tickets are $10 and are available online here.

The Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival (FWAAMFest), now in its 6th year, highlights the Black traditions and history at the heart of American roots music. The event features Black artists at the vanguard of preservation and innovation in musical styles such as old-time, string band, early blues and jazz, jug band, bluegrass, and folk. FWAAMFest is is a program of Decolonizing the Music Room, a Fort Worth nonprofit with a mission of uplifting the musical traditions of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian peoples through education and performance.

Stage Events - Throughout the run of the special exhibition Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, a site-specific stage located in front of the Modern’s auditorium will host both programmed performances and spontaneous activations. An artwork in its own right, Stage, 2026, features a powder-coated steel surface bearing Johnson’s signature marks, scratched and branded into the metal, aging and burnishing over time. This platform, where others can express themselves, emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between artist and audience, a central motif in the artist’s practice.

Inspired by Johnson’s early memories of dancing and performing with friends atop Carl Andre’s Post-Minimalist floor works at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Stage is a testament to Johnson’s commitment to creating space for others. More than an invitation to engage and interact, the work fosters artistic endeavors and creativity as a collective experience.