Rooted and Rising, Another Perspective

By Matthew Dollan

In November 2017, the Opportunity Gardens team attended Rooted and Rising, the 7th annual Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference in Atlanta Georgia. In Opportunity Gardens, we work with a diverse group of participants, including many from the black community. (As an illustration -  we currently have speakers of 15 different languages in our program.) We wanted to get some different points of view and perspectives to help us interact more effectively with people in our program who hail from different backgrounds.

Rooted and Rising was attended by many black people from around the US and Canada who are involved in agriculture in one way or another. There were farmers, non-profit workers, people looking to get into farming and gardening, producers of value-added goods, and others working in multiple industries linked to agriculture. The conference focused as much on racial justice as agriculture, covering many topics such as historic and present-day barriers to black people acquiring land to use in agriculture, the low quality of food available to many black people living in metropolitan areas, dietary challenges facing many black people, and the less-than-welcoming environment black people experience when moving into rural areas to begin farming.

The name of the conference reflects the two major themes that we discussed. “Rooted” refers to the often-overlooked rich history of black people in agriculture prior to slavery and how that legacy can be an inspiration for people returning to farming and gardening. For example, Eugene Alala from the Grow Where You Are community garden talked about how many enslaved Africans were intentionally chosen for their skilled agriculture ability. Their techniques of growing rice and draining swamp land for agriculture are still used today in the South.  “Rising” is reflected in the triumphal and inspiring stories of black people surmounting institutional and individual racism to obtain and retain land, to take control of their own food supply, and to produce healthy food for themselves despite huge obstacles. We explored many resourceful ideas for urban agriculture and learned of the role of black Americans in developing beloved innovations.  Examples included Pick Your Own and the CSA model, developed and popularized by Booker T. Watley, and the Community Land Trust model, which keynote speaker Shirley Sherrod helped develop in the 1960s, and on which thousands of programs across the US are now modeled - including Columbia's own CLT.

The first day of the conference was composed of a tour of seven different urban farms and gardens around Atlanta, and on the second day we attended workshops covering many topics related to farming, urban gardening and racial justice in the US.

Each urban farm and garden we visited is working to bring fresh healthy vegetables at affordable prices to communities which are often located in food deserts. They are spaces where community members are welcomed to participate and learn how to grow vegetables themselves, and they are often hubs where community gatherings take place and the arts are celebrated. The people we met are taking food production power back into their own hands, raising food in their own neighborhoods and communities and reducing dependency on massive corporations producing low-quality food far away. As we visited each garden it really hit me how important it is that these physical places exist in neighborhoods where they can serve as real-life examples of how it is possible to live. Many people have at least a little space to raise vegetables - even if they do live in town - and these urban agriculture operations serve as inspiration for everyone who sees them.

Abiodun Henderson told us the powerful story of Westview Community Garden, which she helped found, and which now serves as an important source of fresh vegetables and community revitalization. In addition to gardening activities, it provides creative and worthwhile activities and learning opportunities for youth, such as hosting part of the neighborhood’s annual STEAM empowerment summer camp.  This camp is geared toward many of the underprivileged kids between the ages of 7 and 17 who call Westview home. The community almost lost the garden to developers in 2015 after the bank that was leasing the area to them collapsed and the land was turned over to the FDIC, who advised the community that the land would be up for sale in a few months. During this time, a large new trail connecting much of Atlanta was constructed close to their neighborhood, making the value of the land go up. The Westview Community Organization made it clear to the FDIC that they wanted to purchase the land, and were assured they could keep gardening there. Without warning, a bulldozer arrived at the garden one day and began demolishing the garden shed and the raised beds, uprooting vegetables, and overturning years of hard work put into the garden. The FDIC was preparing the land for sale, presumably to another buyer, despite the neighborhood's expressed intention to purchase it. Abi and the rest of the community were heartbroken by the destruction of their garden, but they organized and created a gofundme page. As a community, they raised the necessary funds to purchase the land! This is an amazing example of a community Rooted together and Rising above the obstacles of bank collapse and gentrification to organize and chip in and maintain something dear and vital to them.

Abi also spoke about how gardens like their own are a part of a necessary movement to survive and improve life in inner-city areas like hers where employment and access to healthy, fresh food are scarce. The stakes are high. Diabetes, obesity-related health problems, and poor nutrition decrease quality of life and are killing our friends. One way to directly address the large scope of the problem is through collaborations.  For example, Grow Where You Are and Truly Living Well, two of the other urban agriculture organizations we visited, partner with another nonprofit Abi runs - Ganstas to Growers - which connects previously incarcerated people to agriculture.

Throughout the conference, one theme that was emphasized was the power that gardening has to foster community. Our guide Eugene Alala from the Grow Where You Are community garden talked about how their work helps to bridge gaps separating different demographics and brings people together from all over the community who wouldn't otherwise spend time together. Several of the gardens we visited recognize the importance of people gathering and enjoying communal time not only while gardening but also after the day's work is done. Urban Sprouts, for example, has a large bonfire area and is constructing a stage which will enhance their ability to host movie nights, spoken-word events, and concerts. Jerry Ra of Urban Green University who partners with homeowners to raise vegetables and fish in gardens and tanks in their backyards, also emphasized the importance of creating strong personal relationships with participants in his program. This was especially good advice for me in my work with Trish and almost one hundred participants in Opportunity Gardens.

Another theme that came up in various discussions was the differences in legislation pertaining to urban agriculture across the nation. Some cities allow people to sell vegetables raised on public land and others do not. Atlanta is very friendly towards urban agriculture and in 2009 established a city-wide plan which included "launching a childhood obesity and local food initiative, passing new farmers’ market and community garden ordinances, committing to bringing local food within ten minutes of 75 percent of all residents by 2020, and committing to building community garden and urban agriculture plots in all city parks." It made me realize how important it is for individuals to organize and support legislation and political movements which enable urban agriculture.

As I heard stories of black peoples' long history in agriculture, I thought about how I - as a white person whose two sets of grandparents were both farmers - have not given enough thought to how slavery may affect current views of agriculture held by and about black people in a society where negative news about black people is intentionally and disproportionately over-publicized or about how important it is to give voice to the countless positive stories of black people in agriculture. We need to educate ourselves about how black people and other minorities in the USA are facing an uphill battle much steeper than white people are. We need to take action, including providing funding and resources to support organizations such as those that we visited during the conference. Supporting black-run organizations helps empower them with the resources they need to improve their own communities in the ways they see fit. I also appreciate even more, the importance of bringing people of color onto CCUA's staff because they would be better able to relate to the unique challenges and obstacles preventing people of color from gardening.

The themes and information I learned at the conference impacted me deeply and opened my eyes to many obstacles facing people of color in our agriculture and food system. The innovations and strategies being developed to dismantle racist structures and thrive despite barriers are inspiring and I come away from the conference informed, convicted and with the hope that comes with knowing what can be done to help. 

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Rooted and Rising: Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference, November 10-12, 2017, Atlanta GA