Spotlights Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network
With These Hands: Black Farmers’ Stories of Rural Revivalism
[We] aim to reach policymakers and the public to shift how they think about food production, while highlighting how Black, environmentally sustainable, small-scale farming is viable and offers solutions to the problems created by corporate agriculture.
Project Objectives
- Strengthen SAAFON’s strategy of building collective power among the farmers so that they can lead the creation of an alternative food system rooted in progressive values;
- Shift the U.S. cultural narrative about the Black agrarianism as a catalyst for social change.
Black agrarianism, rooted in ancestral and ecological sustainable practices, is now being shown to mitigate some of the worst aspects of climate change.
Impact
SAAFON produced a series of short farmer profile videos to demonstrate the leadership of their farmer members in establishing an equitable and just food system. The series, With These Hands, was produced and launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAAFON formed a social media campaign to educate viewers on the series and to promote screenings of episodes as they were released. They used digital platforms and hosted virtual screenings and discussions. The series has been incredibly well received and resulted in an increase in membership of young Black farmers in the SAAFON network. Increased community engagement and support for a new generation of land stewards. The series has also been a strategy to educate legislators and regulators and cultivate their support for policies, regulations and resource allocations. It has been highly impactful to show them stories of persistence, resilience, and economic viability among farmers who have worked the land for generations.
View series With These Hands
