Week of Why Day 4 - Sent June 9, 2020
Dear Friends and Family,
We are now 14 days into the protests following George Floyd’s death, and over halfway through Week of Why. At this point, activist fatigue may be starting to set in; feeling a sense of repetitiveness, hopelessness, or loss of drive is normal, but we cannot stop here. While it’s important to take time to rest and recharge, we must keep fighting. Here are some of the amazing things that have already been accomplished since the protests began:
Minneapolis has voted to disband the police department and bans the use of choke holds.
Charges were upgraded against Officer Chauvin, and his accomplices have been arrested and charged.
Dallas adopted a “duty to intervene” rule that requires officers to stop other cops who are engaging in inappropriate uses of force.
In Maryland, a bipartisan work group of state lawmakers announced the creation of a police reform work group.
As a reminder, over the course of the week I will be highlighting 7 different organizations that support black lives and communities of color and discussing important questions that I’ve been asking myself, such as “why is this happening?” “why is this important?” and “why do we need to get involved?” Despite the research I’ve put into this project, I know that I still have a lot to learn. I am in no way an expert or trying to speak on behalf of the black community, but rather am attempting to use my voice and privilege as a white person to amplify those whose voices and stories have been typically ignored and excluded from popular narratives throughout history.
For Day 4 of Week of Why, I am highlighting Black Earth Farms, a non-profit, organic farm focused in California’s Bay Area that works to deliver healthy food to people in need. From their website:
“We are a Black and Indigenous led agroecology collective composed of skilled land stewards, spiritual leaders, healers, gardeners, farmers, builders, writers, educators, artists, musicians, and organizers. We study and spread ancestral knowledge and contemporary agroecological practices to train community members to build collectivized, autonomous, and chemical free food systems in urban and peri-urban environments throughout the Occupied Karkin Ohlone & Chochenyo Territory.”
As mentioned in previous emails, food redlining is a problem that disproportionately affects low-income and black communities, decreasing their access to fresh produce. This inequity actually dates back to discriminatory housing practices used in the 1930s, which rated communities on their lending risk for mortgages. Neighborhoods with poor ratings, which were predominantly black, were redlined and kept from receiving financial assistance, while white suburbs only grew. As a result, supermarkets geared their business toward the suburban neighborhoods where they would have a higher-paying clientele, leaving people in black neighborhoods with only easy access to local convenience stores, having to travel much farther to obtain fresh food.
Not only is food redlining itself a major issue, but it also is a major factor that plays into many of the other systemic problems that continue to plague black communities. Higher rates of poor health leading to lower life expectancies and students being unable to focus in school because they’re worried about where they’ll get their next meal are just two huge issues that can arise when whole communities don’t have convenient access to healthy food. According to the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, “Fully 57 percent of Black or African American students reported food insecurity, compared to 40 percent of non-Hispanic white students.” While food insecurity is a national health issue impacting all races, racist policies dating back to the 1930s perpetuate the disproportionality of black people affected.
Black Earth Farms is currently collecting money to support them in delivering free food boxes to black people who have been affected by protests in Oakland. According to their website:
“Each CSA box can feed a family of 4-5 or 2 heavy veggie eaters for about one week...Right now we are prioritizing folks who have been put out of work by COVID-19, folks with low income, folks with no income, Black folks that are experiencing racialized police terrorism, LGBTQIA+ folks, food insecure and/or housing insecure folks, and organizers and organizations working towards the liberation of oppressed peoples.”
What can you do to get involved and learn more?
Donate directly to Black Earth Farms to support this small and local non-profit in feeding black people who “have been arrested and bailed, injured, or traumatized during Oakland uprisings.”
Venmo: @blackearthfarms
Cash App: $blackearth
Click through this website for the Move for Hunger to learn more about how food injustice is a racial equity issue.
Watch this 2 minute trailer for a documentary called “16 Seeds” about racial food inequities in Oakland.
Remember that in just reading and sharing this email you are already taking action to support the movement.
As always, if you feel like I missed something, would like to engage in further conversation, or have questions, please reply to this email (reply individually, not reply all) and I would be happy to continue the discussion or recommend further resources.
Sincerely,
Grace Hochberg