A Future for Black Farmers

This month Shirley Sherrod joined us on The Stories Behind Our Food to talk about the half century she’s spent seeking justice for Black farmers. New Communities Inc. in Georgia was the first community land trust in the United States. Weathering discrimination, drought and outright sabotage, this organization has worked nonstop to build a better life for farmers. As the members of New Communities celebrate their 50th anniversary this year on land once owned by the largest slaveholder in the state, they’re looking to the future, planting new trees and bringing younger people into agriculture.

Many of the challenges discussed in this episode are specific to Black farmers due to the racism they’ve faced from their white neighbors and from government entities. But there is a lot they have in common with small-scale family farmers around the world. And as New Communities grows, Ms. Sherrod says, “we’ll bring everyone else along with us.” We feel lucky to have had this chance to host Ms. Sherrod who, in addition to her work as an organizer and as former Director of Rural Development for the state of Georgia, is a storyteller with a powerful vision.

This episode was produced by Gary Goodman with hosts Kate Chess and Danielle Robidoux. For additional information about this podcast, please visit https://blog.equalexchange.coop/category/podcast/

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