About Good Home Training

As directors of Good Home Training, Evolyn Brooks and Riche Holmes Grant, set out to create a visual and emotional exploration of how generations of Black women have redefined the home as a powerful site of cultural transmission, creativity, and connection.

Drawing from our own family histories and the formative lessons passed down by our elders, we revisited the mixed messages that shaped our upbringing: being told to “be seen and not heard,” while also being expected to “speak clearly when an elder is speaking to you.”

These contradictions sparked deeper questions: What is good home training today — and why does it still matter? What were our ancestors really trying to pass down through their style, discipline, and excellence as homemakers, designers, culinarians, and entrepreneurs?

Our search for answers led us into the archives, where we unearthed the stories of Black women who made “home” more than a place of shelter — they made it a sanctuary, a seat of wisdom and creativity, and a stronghold. In the face of structural exclusion and systemic injustice, they claimed domestic spaces as their own and infused them with beauty, order, intention, and power.

To bring this legacy into the present, we interviewed creatives, and culture bearers who helped us contextualize what we found. And when we needed more clarity, we kept going — talking, baking, laughing, listening — gathering not just history, but lived experience.

We pay particular tribute to trailblazers like Malinda Russell, the first known Black person to self-publish a cookbook. Her story — one of resilience, reinvention, and resistance — anchors the film’s spirit. Like so many of the women we honor, she wasn’t trying to make history; she was simply trying to make a life for herself and her child. In doing so, she left a blueprint.

The structure of our film is rooted in the traditions we know best — gathering in the kitchen, the heart of the home, working with our hands, sharing food, and passing stories across generations.

Through a shared meal, a hands-on baking session using a centuries-old recipe, and intimate conversations among Black women, we created a sensory experience that connects food, family, and legacy.

“Good Home Training is both a tribute and a call to action — an invitation to reflect on the lessons passed down to us and to carry them forward with purpose, pride, and possibility.”

- Evolyn Brooks & Riche Holmes Grant