Did you know that the roots of regenerative agriculture, organic farming, and the farm-to-table movement grew from the work of Black farmers like Dr. Booker T. Whatley and Dr. George Washington Carver? And yet today, Black farmers are highly underrepresented in farming and farm ownership. While the Black population of the US is approximately 13.4%, Black farmers represent 1.3 % of farmers across the US.
In this episode, we had the honor and privilege of speaking with Kiani Conley-Wilson, a grower, activist, and organizer based in Troy, NY. She is passionate about environmental justice, anti-racist/pro-feminist organizing, and the power of food across cultures, economies, and environments. Kiani is the Community Empowerment Coordinator for Soul Fire Farm, which is an Afro-Indigenous-centered community farm committed to uprooting racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system. She also organizes with local organizations to develop people-centered systems and spaces.
This is such a powerful conversation and anyone interested in sustainability, environmentalism and low waste living will learn a lot about how to make their advocacy and daily lives more intersectional.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Film: Sacred Cow
Book: Farming While Black
Quote: “I'm no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I'm and changing the things I cannot accept" by Angela Davids
Learn more about Soul Fire Farm:
Website: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/
Instagram: @soulfirefarm
Follow Kiani on Instagram: @kiani4troy
CONNECT + FOLLOW:
Podcast Instagram: @heychange_podcast
Anne Therese:
Website: https://theclimateoptimist.com/
Instagram: @annetheresegennari
Robin:
Website: https://parentsxplanet.com/
Instagram: @robinxshaw
This episode is dedicated to the Black Farmer Fund. The Black Farmer Fund supports a thriving, resilient food economy, repairing Black communities' relationship to food and land. Hey Change Podcast listeners, you are invited to join us in supporting the Black Farmer Fund. A donation of any size supports and strengthens the economic infrastructure of Black food businesses and helps to build community power through a reparative capital framework. Go to https://www.blackfarmerfund.org/ and let’s support a more fair, equitable and regenerative world by supporting Black farmers today.
More resources to check out:
https://www.farmingwhileblack.org/
https://www.soulfirefarm.org/get-involved/reparations/
https://www.oneearth.org/csas-and-regenerative-agricultures-ties-to-black-history/
Intro + outro music: No Copyright Music by Sapajou
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E80. Decolonize Your Dinner Plate with Kiani Conley-Wilson from Soul Fire Farm