melba wilson

A parent or caregiver’s unconditional love is one of the greatest gifts any of us can receive.  With Mother’s Day around the corner and Father’s Day coming up next month, this special episode of Why Am I Telling You This? brings together some of the most inspiring stories our guests have shared with President Clinton about their parents and other caregivers and the impact they made on their lives. The episode features conversations with Dr. Bernice King, Wynton Marsalis, Magic Johnson, Jason Isbell, David Ortiz, Melba Wilson, Matt Damon, Lisa Leslie, and Jose Andres.

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There’s a reason a certain type of home-cooked cuisine is referred to as “soul food”—because it nurtures the spirit as well as the body. From the American South to New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, food is an integral part of culture, a symbol of love, and a way to bring family, friends, and strangers together.

On this episode of Why Am I Telling You This?, President Clinton is joined by “America’s queen of comfort food,” Melba Wilson, whose eponymous restaurant has been serving mouth-watering meals in Harlem—where she was “born, bred, and buttered”—since 2005. In addition to nurturing her native community with food, Wilson also takes care of her neighbors in other ways. In 2021, she was instrumental in setting up a mobile COVID vaccination site for Harlem residents, provided meals to thousands of essential workers, and established the Melba’s COVID-19 Employee Relief Fund to provide financial aid to dozens of restaurant workers who found themselves out of work during the pandemic. She is also serving on New York City’s COVID Recovery and Health Equity Task Force.

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Today’s show is a little different. Last month, I had a the pleasure of attending the 4th Annual Harlem EatUp festival, a week-long festival celebrating Harlem's food, sounds and art. While I was at the festival I had the opportunity to interview some of the vendors who run businesses in the historic borough. You’ll hear my interviews with Sharon and Lexis Gonzalez, the mother daughter team behind Lady Lexi’s Sweets, Jessica Spaulding of Harlem Chocolate Factory, Melba Wilson of the legendary Melba’s Restaurant and Laticia Young and Raymond Mohan of Lolo’s Seafood Shack.

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