Farmers for Climate Action - Rally for Resilience
Members from left to right: Nezahualcoyotl Xiuhtecutli (Farmworker Association of Florida), Dr. Jasmine Jackson (National Black Food & Justice Alliance), Sedrick Rowe Jr. (SAAFON), Isis Amusa (National Black Food & Justice Alliance), Marlene Manzo (HEAL Food Alliance), Navina Khanna (HEAL Food Alliance), Estela Martínez Cortes (Farmworker Association of Florida), and Axel Fuentes (Rural Community Workers Alliance). The group advocated for food workers’ rights and the Justice for Black Farmers Act at the House Committee on Agriculture.
NBFJA & HEAL RALLY FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND JUSTICE FOR BLACK FARMERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
A founding member of HEAL Food Alliance, the National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) proudly joined our partners along with other organizations in Washington, DC last month to demand climate justice and Justice for Black Farmers in the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill. The “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience” was organized by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), Farm Aid, and an alliance of organizations in order to “bring a mass mobilization of producers to the Capitol, reminiscent of the 1979 Tractorcade,” they said. As the next Farm Bill approaches the docket for Congress, the mass coalition urged legislation to empower farmers to combat corporation-fueled climate change.
Following the disappointing passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, NBFJA and HEAL were explicitly adamant in demanding justice for small farmers, farmers of color, and Black farmers. The IRA, combined with over a century of land theft and discriminatory lending processes for Black farmers at the hands of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has ignited the concerted and historical effort to defend the livelihoods of Black farmers across the nation. During the “Rally for Resilience,” NBFJA and HEAL demanded this justice during interviews, press conferences, and lobbying meetings with the House Committee on Agriculture.
Mama Dorathy Barker, Executive Director of Operation Spring Plant, Inc. and NBFJA Leadership Team member, joined others in a press conference at the Lutheran Church of Reformation. She said, “When talking about the Farm Bill, I think that there was never a Farm Bill written with Black people in mind, or BIPOC, or socially disadvantaged, or however way that the federal government deem us. It was never written with us in mind…So what is social justice? What is justice for us? We don’t know what justice looks like. We know what injustice looks like, but for justice, we don’t know.”
Mama Dorathy Barker speaks at the Lutheran Church of Reformation.
“Land is power, and once we lose all of our land, we lose our power.”
Susuyu Lassa, Soul Fire Farm’s Alumni and Partnerships Coordinator, demanded, “that the USDA make its programs, which include credit, land access, land tenure, training, mentorship, and technical assistance programs more equitable and accessible to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color producers. Some concrete ways, or some concrete steps include, enacting the policies prescribed by the Justice for Black Farmers Act, increasing funding for the socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers development program, prioritizing program investments for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color producers, and ensuring equitable access to crop insurance amongst many other [necessary initiatives].”
Collectively and wholeheartedly, we are demanding the passage of the Justice for Black Farmers Act in the Farm Bill. The proposed legislation, S.96, intends to enact policies to end discrimination within the USDA, protect remaining Black farmers from losing their land, provide land grants to create a new generation of Black farmers/stewards, restore the land base that has been lost, and implement systemic reforms to help family farmers across the United States. Our contributions to the Justice for Black Farmers Act have been rooted in the wisdom of lessons from past failures and an investment in steps towards a radical reclamation of what we know our communities need and deserve.
The “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience” marked a momentous, joyous communion of organizers, farmers, and producers from across the nation. In our joy, we remain fierce.
"As we marched to the Capitol, I was reminded of our ancestors, that our voices matter, and that we can make a difference when we come together. It felt powerful advocating to legislators for the Justice for Black Farmers Act and hearing Mama Dorathy Barker give personal testimony to Black farmers being left out of funding allocations. Being surrounded by other people of the global majority on the hill, advocating for justice and equity in agriculture, gave me hope that transformational change is possible if we continue to push for it. The 2023 Farm Bill isn't just another piece of legislation - it's an opportunity to right the wrongs that have been done to Black farmers and communities for far too long."
Read more on HEAL Food Alliance’s Farm Bill 2023 Platform and Policies
Read the TEXT and a SUMMARY of the 2023 Justice for Black Farmers Act
Coverage by Isis Amusa
Thanks Rion Moon & Jam Rose for taking these gorgeous photos!