Building Black Solidarity through our Ecosystem
By Jared Davis
This blog post contains the personal opinions and reflections of the author and is not representative of the voice of the organization.
By Jared Davis, Administrative Associate at Black Farmer Fund
Our mission at Black Farmer Fund (BFF) is to nurture Black community wealth and health by investing in Black agricultural systems in the northeast. At its core, this mission is a Pan-African one. That is to say that in recognizing the detrimental effects that enslavement and colonization have had on the socioeconomic and psychic trajectory of Black African people in the Americas (and across the diaspora), we locate the solution to this problem in the belief that (African, read: Black) unity is vital to the social, political and above all economic progress of all peoples of that diaspora. Though an ecosystem of services for farmers exists more generally across the U.S., those services are offered by institutions that have and continue to hinder the progress of some on the basis of Indigeneity, Blackness, Immigration status, and the connection between these labels and their relationship to the project of colonial settlerism in our country. We must recognize that all identitarian movements risk failure if they do not acknowledge that such categories of identification (e.g., Black, diasporic, African, etc.) are aspirational by definition. What does this mean? If we do not exercise and practice the unity we believe will connect us to our goals, then these categories of identification ultimately remain nothing more than labels with little to show for them beyond the traumatic legacy of racial capitalism.
In grammar (across several languages, in fact), the subjunctive refers to a mood or tense that is typically used to convey that which is imagined, wished, or possible. It is best understood as an aspirational tense: “I hope that X will happen”...” I wish that Y may come to pass”. Indeed, much of what we at BFF have outlined as our “reason for being” exists in this aspirational mode and, as such, requires that we actively reflect those objectives in our philosophies, organizational practices, and everyday actions so that they become reality. To nurture is a verb, and doing so in Black communities demands that we recognize that community itself is not just a noun (somewhere you go) but also something that you “do” and create. How might we begin to create the systemic change necessary to realize a world in which race is no longer a hindrance to those burdened by it if we do not first exercise community consciousness in ourselves and with those with whom we wish to share it?
“Through our reliance on and uplift of community, we commit to life-affirming practices of joy, thriving, and ancestral connection in not only resistance but defiance of a status quo that teaches us that wholeness and satisfaction can only be found through individual gain.”
Our ecosystem came together amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that has not only amplified the scarcity long experienced by working communities but additionally highlights the impacts of a scarcity mentality culture that has long existed in the U.S. The members of our ecosystem found that we were competing for the same funding sources circulating amidst the height of the pandemic and realized that through collaboration and kinship, we could share those resources rather than vie for them, something that is ingrained into all of us as laborers disciplined by capital. Together with Black Farmers United- NYS, Corbin Hill Food Project (CHFP), Farm School NYC (FSNYC), Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC-LT), and Soul Fire Farm Institute (SFFI), BFF has been able to establish and grow an ecosystem of like-minded organizations that not only embodies our community-centered outlook but generates material progress towards undoing the egocentric project of unchecked capitalist accumulation.
Our approach fills a vital need for Black farmers striving to purchase and hold onto their land, better manage and operate their farms by connecting to larger markets, accessing capital, and exchanging information in the pursuit of innovative farming techniques that are both culturally relevant and focused on proactively addressing the current climate crisis. This approach is critical because it acknowledges that in order to undo the trans historic impacts of white supremacy, we must first exorcize its spirit from our way of seeing and relating to others, viewing one another primarily as competitors rather than collaborators and fellow beings.
Each of our partnering organizations provides unique and complementary services – including culturally-rich, climate-smart agricultural training; ethical, equitable land access; patient, blended investment capital; and collective, expansive marketing support. By working together in this ecosystem, we not only provide a more holistic approach to farmer success but exemplify our vision for a more racially-just future through works rather than words. Our ecosystem approach demonstrates that we can support each other in our specific aims while remaining steadfast in our commitment to people's power over profits and resource hoarding.
Through our ecosystem approach, we demonstrate that in order to achieve the goals of Black health and wealth, everyday people must be the primary decision-makers and stakeholders in determining how they want to build and sustain their communities. Building Black community wealth does not intrinsically mean denying other communities of those very same resources. Rather, it means standing in the specificities of our struggle while recognizing that the fight for equity must be a shared one. If it is our subjunctive dream at BFF to one day realize Black community health & wealth, then our ecosystem is one of the vehicles through which we will exercise that dream and act on the community so that one day that will no longer be an aspiration but a reality. Here at BFF and across our ecosystem, we are celebrating and uplifting what it means to be collaborative.
Through our reliance on and uplift of community, we commit to life-affirming practices of joy, thriving, and ancestral connection in not only resistance but defiance of a status quo that teaches us that wholeness and satisfaction can only be found through individual gain.