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Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Food and Farms Partnership sponsored my trip to New York City for the 2010 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference. It was held at brooklyn college which is a small school located in the heart of the brooklyn borough. The conference had a lot of energy invested into it and was very well attended by roughly 500 people from all over the nation. There were people from all over Oakland, Detroit, Maryland, NC, BAltimore, Dominican Republic and many others.
The conference was held the day of the Pigford II passage trough congress, which is a class action law suit filled against the National Department of Agriculture claiming long standing discrimination against African American farmers, it was some of the biggest news from the weekend. Some of the lead organizers and campaigners for this case were in attendance and gave a keynote address. This lawsuit has created political waves nationally because of its shear size and scale of impact. It is very rare that victories like this one happen within the Black community not to mention that Native American landowners won a large class action lawsuit settlement also in recent days.
I also spent time touring around the different boroughs of New York to see the various Urban Garden designs that had been established for community residents. We heard stories about how people had to fight for their space and establish youth opportunities. The conference promoted building stronger networks, scaling up business opportunities, and promotion of urban gardening and rural farming. The experience was very educational and I was able to bring back a lot of information that will help me in my work here in Oregon.
1. Create a viable food production program locally; 2. Build learning into our organization; 3. Produce good quality, healthy, and safe food; 4. Gain access to economic opportunities; 5. Connect locally and globally to people of color.
Showing posts with label Urban Gardeners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Gardeners. Show all posts
11.19.2010
New York - 2010 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference
Welcome to my page if you are reading it for the first time. I am in New York blogging on the roof top a 5 story walk up on a sunny afternoon... I see buildings as far as the eye can see. One building in the NE corner has a small coniferous tree forest growing majestically on the top of 30+ story building. This is a one of a kind city!
Here I am posting from the sunny New York. I am in the Big Apple for the first time in my adult life. It is such an energetic city environment. Far different from my rainy Portland which is like gnat to a bumble bee. I am certainly not the only Oregonian in this city siting on roof tops and looking up at thousands of apartment spaces filling the skyline. There are opportunities everywhere I go as I travel via the 4,5,6 lines too and from Manhattan I can only wonder what are the cornerstones of these communities.
My excitement is mostly leading up to the start of the 2010 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners conference which is to be held at Brooklyn College. I hope that I can meet and learn from experienced farmers. I want to ask them what did it take for you to get started in the business of farming? What make farming so rewarding to you and your community? Are there opportunities for young people to begin working on their skills as farmers? What kind of person makes a great farmer? What does a successful urban farmer have to do to be successful?
These are just some of the questions that I will be asking while I attend this historic conference.
Here I am posting from the sunny New York. I am in the Big Apple for the first time in my adult life. It is such an energetic city environment. Far different from my rainy Portland which is like gnat to a bumble bee. I am certainly not the only Oregonian in this city siting on roof tops and looking up at thousands of apartment spaces filling the skyline. There are opportunities everywhere I go as I travel via the 4,5,6 lines too and from Manhattan I can only wonder what are the cornerstones of these communities.
My excitement is mostly leading up to the start of the 2010 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners conference which is to be held at Brooklyn College. I hope that I can meet and learn from experienced farmers. I want to ask them what did it take for you to get started in the business of farming? What make farming so rewarding to you and your community? Are there opportunities for young people to begin working on their skills as farmers? What kind of person makes a great farmer? What does a successful urban farmer have to do to be successful?
These are just some of the questions that I will be asking while I attend this historic conference.
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