In 1920, 14 percent of all land-owning US farmers were black.
Black ances.
For those with more experience, the book provides a fresh lens on practices that may have been taken for granted as ahistorical or strictly European.
The technical information is designed for farmers and gardeners with beginning to intermediate experience.
Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.
Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land.
Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise Guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest.
At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latinx Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color.
Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" Guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture.
The system is built on stolen Land and stolen labor and needs a redesign.
While farm management is among the whitest of professions, farm labor is predominantly brown and exploited, and people of color disproportionately live in "food apartheid" neighborhoods and suffer from diet-related illness.
Today less than 2 percent of farms are controlled by black people--a loss of over 14 million acres and the result of discrimination and dispossession.
In 1920, 14 percent of all land-owning US farmers were black
