Black culture celebrated each year at Sheila Crump Johnson’s Salamander Middleburg resort

MIDDLEBURG, Virginia — On an outdoor stage at her 350-acre Salamander Middleburg Resort in Virginia, BET cofounder Sheila Crump Johnson jams to go-go music spun by celebrity DJ D-Nice.& Hundreds of partiers in front of the stage bop and sway along with her in between bites of gourmet brisket sandwiches, mouth-watering chicken wings and Caribbean-inspired shrimp. Guests sip Virginia-born spirits and wines during the fourth year of what Johnson bills as “Kwame Onwuachi Presents The Family Reunion.”& Johnson and renowned chef and restaurateur Onwuachi launched the event in 2021 to celebrate diversity in the culinary and hospitality communities. Since then, the four-day event has become a pilgrimage for the mostly Black attendees who travel from as far as California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Florida, and Texas. At the annual gathering, they get to mingle with celebrity chefs and cookbook authors such as Carla Hall, Jessica Harris, Alexander Smalls, and dozens of up-and-coming culinary artists. People from all over the country take part in “Kwame Onwuachi Presents The Family Reunion” at Sheila Crump Johnson’s Salamander Middleburg resort and spa in Middleburg, Virginia. Photo credit: Bonnie Newman Davis, NABJ Black News & Views “It’s about us, the culture of us,” Carla Hall said. “It’s...