Macon Magazine

60 maconmagazine.com | February/March 2026 STORY BY BRITTNY JOHNSON | PHOTOS BY DSTO MOORE Macon Chose Me is a photo series by DSTO Moore highlighting residents who weren't born in Macon but actively chose to move here and enjoy positively representing the community. Dr. Brandi D. Simpson M A C O N C H O S E M E T he journey of life is full of winding destinations. For Dr. Brandi D. Simpson, that destination happened to be Macon. Simpson lived in many places; she was born in Gary, Indiana, spent her formative years in Germany, and ultimately called Minnesota home. But a er doctoral studies in London, an opportunity fell into her lap here. Five years later, her work as a West African food historian and assistant professor at Wesleyan College continues to evolve, proving that home is not always where you start, but where you are shaped, welcomed, and rooted. What first brought you to Macon? When I was finishing up my Ph.D., I applied for many, many jobs. I did get some offers, but this one was an extraordinary opportunity. My colleague, Dr. Melanie Doherty, had applied for a Mellon grant called "Cra ing Democratic Futures," and the purpose of this program was to talk to the community about reparations and what this means for the community at large, because it's going to mean different things to different people. I was brought in to facilitate that. I worked with Tonya Parker (formerly the director of education at the Tubman Museum) and we were running something now known as the Lane Center. I didn't ever really see myself as the kind of professor that's just going to teach. I want to be in community. I want that bridge, and it was just handed to me on the plate, and I couldn't resist that. Now, I was apprehensive about coming to Macon. I didn't even know where this place was. What is it? Why is it 80 degrees in December?

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