PRAISE FOR FARMING WHILE BLACK
“Farming While Black helps us remember why land cultivation is such a significant part of the fight for freedom for Black people. Reading this book provides practical tools along with a beautiful visionary template for practicing land development that is rooted in healing and transformation. Thank you, Leah, for your work and for your vision.”
—PATRISSE KHAN-CULLORS, author of When They Call You a Terrorist; co-founder of Black Lives Matter
“Farming While Black makes an important contribution to the growing body of literature on Black farming and foodways. Small farms that grow food using sustainable, regenerative practices… are necessary if humanity is to survive. Farming While Black provides ideas and best practices to move us in that direction. It should be read by both new and experienced rural and urban farmers, and by all wanting to participate in creating a just, equitable, earth-friendly food system.”
—MALIK YAKINI, executive director, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network
“Nothing is more important than the increasingly visible and energetic role of Black people in moving toward creating and building a food system that actually works for people—one that provides nourishing food and provides a fair standard of living for workers while stewarding the land. Farming While Black is a brilliant guide to moving in that direction, regardless of your skin color.”
—MARK BITTMAN
“At the heart of the movement for liberation is the opportunity to heal intergenerational trauma. The most authentic way to do so is to cultivate the earth, eat the foods of your ancestors, reweave yourself back into the story that been sprouting from the village hearth since time immemorial. With these teachings of resilience, channeled from her countless generations of wise ancestors, she has watered seeds of hope that will nourish many beyond our time.”
—ROWEN WHITE, Mohawk farmer; Indigenous Seed Keepers Network
“Farming While Black is such an incredible gift to our movement. From Black history to soil health to movement building to land preservation, this book is incredibly generous in offering a roadmap for Black people to return to our rich, land-based heritage. Calling all farmers, organizers, and lovers of freedom to pick up this book, read, share, study, and build together.”
—DARA COOPER, National Black Food and Justice Alliance
“Farming While Black is a beautiful and timely work that manages to live at once as a stunning memoir of the extraordinary life of Leah Penniman and her Soul Fire Farm; a methodical and innovative instruction manual for a sustainable farm practice; and a clear-eyed manifesto that uses the rich history of the Black farming legacy as the guiding ethos for an effective modern day resistance movement.”
—THERESE NELSON, chef, writer; founder of blackculinaryhistory.com
“Farming While Black offers up a bounty of hope and inspiration, not just for farmers of color—but for all of us. A practical and visionary book that challenges us to change how we farm, how we live, and how we treat each other.”
—ERIC HOLT-GIMÉNEZ, executive director, Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy
“Equal parts practical farm instruction and spiritual reflection on mind, body, spirit, and land, Farming While Black honors Black folks’ connections to land and agriculture while recognizing structural constraints that have ruptured those connections. Farming While Black is an important text that (re)centers Blackness and Black people in a conversation about being growers and responsible stewards of land.”
—ASHANTÉ REESE, PhD, assistant professor of anthropology; co-director of the Food Studies Program, Spelman College
“Farming While Black is a rich and culturally relevant how-to manual for Black and Brown farmers. Filled with uplifting stories of Black contributions to agriculture and the ongoing work at Soul Fire Farm to build an anti-racist and just food system, this is the most inspiring book I have read in years.”
—IRA WALLACE, owner of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange; author of The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast
“Leah Penniman’s Farming While Black is a remarkably thorough—and beautiful!—handbook for successful farming… But this book is not only that. Farming While Black shows us how we might repair our relationships with the land, which, given as we are the land, means repairing our relationships to ourselves. And each other. It can feel difficult to believe in the possibility of such repair, but this book gives me faith.”
—ROSS GAY, poet; author of Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
“Leah Penniman’s powerful, informative, and lyrical work reflects her profound love for Black people and her unwavering commitment toward achieving Black land justice—a Black land classic!”
—OWUSU BANDELE, PhD, co-founder of Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network
“Soul Fire Farm is not just a farm; it is a place of refuge. It is where intergenerational, queer, and trans Black and Brown people go to be nourished in their mind, body, and soul. My family and I are blessed to be part of this community. Wherever you are, after you read Farming While Black, make a trip to Grafton, New York, and visit this liberated land.”
—ROSA CLEMENTE, journalist and scholar-activist; 2008 Green Party vice presidential candidate
“Farming While Black is freedom. A true gift from our ancestors, reminding us that they are always our teachers and inspiring us with the work being carried forward today. This book is a long awaited toolbox for Black farmers by Black farmers, rooting us to the land and empowering us to grow in our own skin.”
—NATASHA BOWENS, farmer; author of The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience, and Farming
“Farming While Black is a genuinely beautiful read, providing a critical guide for self-determination and community sustainability presented in a most accessible, tangible, thoughtful, and clear way; and moving us a step closer toward our over all goal of creating a ‘just’ economy rooted in true democracy and shared resources where all of us, not some of us, have what we need to thrive.”
—RUKIA LUMUMBA, founder and executive director of the People’s Advocacy Institute
“Leah is a griot! I could feel my own ancestors talk to me as I read each chapter. The message is a clear call to arms for what it takes to be of African descent and to be liberated in these times: we must connect with the Earth, we must put our hands in the soil. I thank the ancestors for guiding her heart, protecting her as child, and whispering to her as she penned Farming While Black! A’se.”
—MATTHEW RAIFORD, farmer and chef; owner of Gilliard Farms, The Farmer & Larder, and Strong Roots Provisions
“As an agricultural attorney and founder of Family Agriculture Resource Management Services, I find Ms. Penniman’s convictions regarding advocacy resonate personally with my own work. From the basic definition of soil testing to the technicalities of lending, Ms. Penniman’s book thoroughly defines what Farming While Black truly means.”
—JILLIAN HISHAW, Esq., founder of Family Agriculture Resource Management Services (F.A.R.M.S.)
FARMING WHILE BLACK
Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
Leah Penniman
Foreword by Karen Washington
CHELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING
White River Junction, Vermont
London, UK
Copyright © 2018 by Leah Penniman.
All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs by Leah Penniman.
No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.
The painting on the dedication page is Foresight by Naima Penniman.
The song “How Could Anyone” on pa
ge 66 is from the recordings How Could Anyone and If You See a Dream by Libby Roderick (Turtle Island Records). Copyright © 1988 Libby Roderick Music. Reprinted with permission. Please visit www.libbyroderick.com, or contact [email protected] for more information. All rights reserved.
The song “A Sower Went Out to Sow Her Seed” on page 68 is from Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower: The Opera by Toshi Reagon. Reprinted with permission.
The poem “Lineage” on page 149 is from This Is My Century: New and Collected Poems by Margaret Walker. Copyright © 1989 by Margaret Walker. Reprinted with the permission of University of Georgia Press.
The poem “A Small Needful Fact” by Ross Gay on page 103 is from Split This Rock’s The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database. www.splitthisrock.org. Copyright © 2015 by Ross Gay. Reprinted with permission.
All author proceeds from this book will be donated to a fund providing land and training for Black farmers.
Project Manager: Patricia Stone
Editor: Michael Metivier
Copy Editor: Laura Jorstad
Proofreader: Nancy A. Crompton
Indexer: Linda Hallinger
Designer: Melissa Jacobson
Printed in the United States of America.
First printing October, 2018.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 18 19 20 21 22
Our Commitment to Green Publishing
Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This book may cost slightly more because it was printed on paper that contains recycled fiber, and we hope you’ll agree that it’s worth it. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative (www.greenpressinitiative.org), a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Farming While Black was printed on paper supplied by LSC Communications that contains at least 10% postconsumer recycled fiber.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Penniman, Leah, author.
Title: Farming while Black : Soul Fire Farm’s practical guide to liberation on the land / Leah Penniman ; foreword by Karen Washington.
Description: White River Junction, Vermont : Chelsea Green Publishing, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018027631| ISBN 9781603587617 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781603587624 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Farms, Small—United States. | African American farmers—United States.
Classification: LCC HD1476.U6 P46 2018 | DDC 630.68—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018027631
Chelsea Green Publishing
85 North Main Street, Suite 120
White River Junction, VT 05001
(802) 295-6300
www.chelseagreen.com
This book is dedicated to our ancestral grandmothers, who braided seeds in their hair before being forced to board transatlantic slave ships, believing against the odds in a future of sovereignty on land.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction Black Land Matters
Chapter 1 Finding Land and Resources
Accessing Land • Farm Skills Training • Gathering Material Resources
Chapter 2 Planning Your Farm Business
Worker-Owned Cooperative Business Model • Farm-Share, Community-Supported Agriculture • Food Hubs • Communal Labor Practices • Writing Your Farm Business Plan
Chapter 3 Honoring the Spirits of the Land
Sacred Literature • Offerings to Azaka and Orisa Oko • Planting and Harvesting Rituals • Herbal Baths • Songs and Chants
Chapter 4 Restoring Degraded Land
Remediating Soil Contaminated with Lead • Healing Erosion with Terraces • Agroforestry for Soil Restoration • No-Till and Biological Tillage
Chapter 5 Feeding the Soil
Soil Tests • Compost • Soil Ecology • Cover Crops
Chapter 6 Crop Planning
Annual Crops • Distant Cousins • Polycultures • Farm Layouts with Rotations
Chapter 7 Tools and Technology
Bed Preparation • Propagation • Transplanting and Direct Seeding • Irrigation • Weeding and Crop Maintenance • Harvest • Apparel and Gear
Chapter 8 Seed Keeping
Why Save Seed? • The Seed Garden • The Seed Harvest • Seed Exchange
Chapter 9 Raising Animals
Raising Chickens for Eggs • Raising Chickens for Meat • Raising Pigs • Meat and Sustainability
Chapter 10 Plant Medicine
Species Accounts of Cultivated Plant Allies • Species Accounts of Wildcrafted Plant Allies • Growing an Herb Garden • Herbal Preparations
Chapter 11 Urban Farming
Laws and Land Access • Clean Soil, Clean Water • Growing in Small Spaces • Community
Chapter 12 Cooking and Preserving
African Food Pyramid • Recipes • Food Preservation • No Money, No Time
Chapter 13 Youth on Land
Why Youth on Land? • Best Practices in Youth Programming • Youth Food Justice Curriculum
Chapter 14 Healing from Trauma
Historical Trauma: An Annotated Timeline • Internalized Racism • Healing Ourselves
Chapter 15 Movement Building
Litigation • Education • Direct Action • Land Defense • Policy Change • Consumer Organizing • Mutual Aid and Survival Programs
Chapter 16 White People Uprooting Racism
Reparations • Forming Interracial Alliances • Organizational Transformation • Calling In • Personal Development
Afterword
Closing Poem Black Gold
Resources
Notes
FOREWORD
I met Leah Penniman back in the summer of 2010 while attending the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Summer Conference. It was a typical food and agriculture conference, with many attendees, mostly white, talking about farming and sustainable agriculture. I often wondered how one could talk about sustainable agriculture without mentioning the contributions of people of color (POC). Throughout the years these conferences had all been white-led, with no reference to the contributions made by Black people; at every one I attended, I could count on one hand how many people looked like me.
During that same year I was in the midst of planning an all-Black conference with friends and colleagues, known as the Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference, to be held in New York City. Calling ourselves BUGS (Black Urban Growers), our conference would address the great contributions of the Black farmer. It was to celebrate our history, knowledge, and leadership in Black agriculture. We were to have Black leaders, farmers, educators, and activists addressing our issues and concerns, while also offering resources, networking, and opportunities.
So this time I came prepared to do outreach at NOFA, seeking out as many Black folks as possible to tell them about the conference. That afternoon, however, while walking to a session, a woman of color handed me a piece of paper with a classroom number. I looked in her eyes, and then we gave each other that familiar nod that only Black people can give and proceeded to the room. That woman was Leah Penniman. She had set out and commandeered one of the classrooms to provide a space solely for POC. This was the first time at a conference that there was a space just for us. We sat with pride as we went around the circle introducing ourselves, t
alking about our frustrations with not being represented at food and farming conferences. I sat in awe as this young Black woman engaged us in a conversation around race and power. Right then and there I knew she was special.
For the past eight years I have watched Leah grow into a powerful leader, starting her own farm, holding antiracism workshops, and developing a justice and leadership program for youth, all while holding down a teacher’s job. We continue to work together, breaking down walls of oppression while seeking out opportunities and justice for our people. We have been told time and time again that we stand on the shoulders of greatness. I am deeply honored that I have been asked to write the foreword for this powerful book.
For centuries our ancestors have cried from beyond the voyage of time for us to hear the truth so that their deaths were not in vain. In Farming While Black, Leah Penniman has heard them. Given the centuries of falsehoods, misconceptions, and stolen information, Leah has heard their cries for salvation!
Out from the shadows of darkness we are taken on an emancipated journey of truth, power, reclamation, and fortitude with a resounding Amen. With humility and respect, she pays homage to our ancestors as she articulates our agricultural history.
Confronting everything from the destruction of the continent’s original populace to the tyranny of colonialism, this masterpiece of Afro-indigenous sovereignty sheds light on the richness of Black culture permeating throughout agriculture. Throughout the book we are reminded that we were the pioneers (Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington), the inventors (George Washington Carver, Booker T. Whatley), the trailblazers (Fannie Lou Hamer, The Black Panther Party), and visionaries—intertwining and interconnecting our spirituality and farming.
Farming While Black teaches us the fundamental acts of growing food and growing community. While entertaining us with family adventures, Leah shares stories, cultures, chants, recipes, curricula, and much more from her life’s work as a farmer and co-founder and co-director of Soul Fire Farm.
We are reminded that as Black farmers we cannot do this work without consulting the wisdom of our sacred literature (Odu Ifa) and receiving spiritual permission from the deities of the Earth and universe (Orisa) to plant our seeds, to grow our food, to share our harvest, and to give back to the Earth.
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