Like Said Annie, this week we where looking to focus on solutions to some problems in our food system. We are focusing on Detroit Because it is a place We both know That is brimming With revolutionaries and solutionaries. I would recommend reading Both of our posts before commenting Because my post will give you a critical framework and Might help you answer some of Annie's questions better! I pose a lot of questions, feel free to answer them all or just expand on a few That really stand out to you!
I Learned About visionary organizing and the notion of "local solutions for the local problems" my first year at whos K. It was one of the first things I Learned. Before taking any ANSO classes I was in a weekly workshop called Rethinking Revolution That addressed the current crises we face in our society. We Discussed capitalism, sexism, racism, value, and work. Here I Learned About What Grace Lee Boggs calls the "Quiet Revolution" and I Began to see the value in making change from the ground up. I was lucky to get this framework early on at K. Often we are Taught how big social structures are at the roots of the problems our world faces, and it is easy to feel helpless in the face of These huge social forces. In this blog post I hope to Convince You That we can make change by showing people and Organizations That you are making positive Impacts Already in Detroit.
Here is a link to "The Detroit Reader" from the Learning Journey Conference in Detroit in 2012. I will refer to a few very short (no more than 4 pages long) articles in esta reader.
Detroit is an extremely unique place with a very interesting history. I do not have any time to discuss the history here, but if you want more information I have tons of books I can recommend! One thing I will ask you to Consider That is the current state of Detroit INTENTIONALLY has-been created by people in power. The economic disparity Detroit faces is not the fault of the people, but the failure of capitalism and the demise of democracy. I would also like you to keep in mind That Detroit is not "desolate," or "empty," and it is not a "blank canvas" to be painted. People stayed in Detroit in the face of white flight to the suburbs. People Have Been doing there best to Maintain Their city, Their neighborhoods, Their home. Through this post I will highlight projects That Consider this history and acknowledge the People Who Have Been doing visionary work all along in Detroit.
"Detroit is a city of Hope rather than a city of Despair. The Thousands of vacant lots and abandoned houses not only Provide the space to begin anew but Also the incentive to create innovative ways of making our living-ways That cooperative nurture our productive, and caring selves "(Grace Lee Boggs in The Next American Revolution : Sustainable Activism for the 21 st
Century " p 105).
I would like you to check out a few Initiatives That are making the world anew.
First check out Freedom Growers Feedom an initiative started by Wayne Curtis and Myrtle.
Please read Their article from the Detroit reader on pg 31
"We grow food as a revolutionary act of love for self and others, That Were Employing the resources put in place to sustain life: sun, earth, our own work. We are working Toward Being That community built on love, joy and hope; That beloved community That Dr. King spoke of building "(pg 32).
Differences What do you see in Feedom Freedom Urban Growers and Hantz Farms Mentioned in Annie's post?
There is a critique of Hantz Farms on page 25 of the Detroit Reader. It is called "Detroit:. A Tale of Two Farms" My blog post has a lot of literature and it is kind of long so this one is optional, but If you have the time read it!
If you read the article what do you think about it?
One quote That stuck out to me is
"Land - rural or urban - is more than just land; it is the social space where, economic and community decisions are made, and it is the place of neighborhood, culture and livelihoods. It is home. THEREFORE, it is more than just a 'commodity.' "
Disguised big business is not the only problem in urban farming in Detroit. Gentrification is Also a big point of contention. Please read this article " Evolution or gentrification: Do urban farms lead to higher rents "on page 43 of The Detroit Reader.
While Hantz Farms is a private, large scale, profit driven operation in the disguise urban farming. That Here are some projects are truly trying to serve Their Communities.
https://detroitsummer.wordpress.com/
"That is what revolutions are about. About They are creating a new society in the places and spaces left vacant by the disintegration of the old; About evolving to a higher Humanity, not higher buildings; about Love of one another and of the Earth, not Hate; About Hope, Despair not; About saying YES to Life and No to War; About becoming the change we want to see in the world "(Grace Lee Boggs in The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21 st Century " . p 134)
That we can see this post THROUGHOUT Mentioned projects are locally finding solutions to the local problems. Detroit has a lot of vacant land so urban gardening is a great solution. In places like New York, Where there is not plenty unused land urban gardening can not be the solution to food insecurity. . Urban agriculture is not a direct model for solutions in all Communities, however it is a model of sustainable activism With all of this in mind I want to pose a few questions end:
From inspiration of These Organizations in Detroit, can you think of some problems in your hometown or in Kalamazoo? Local What sorts of solutions can you think of That will transform These Communities, Individuals, and our values? With the gentrification article in mind, how can we be solutionaries and revolutionaries without reproducing more systems of power and oppression?
ReplyDeleteThe quote that from “Detroit: A Tale of Two Farms” really resonated with me.
"Land - rural or urban - is more than just land; it is the social space where, economic and community decisions are made, and it is the place of neighborhood, culture and livelihoods. It is home. THEREFORE, it is more than just a 'commodity.' "
When watching the video about Hantz Farms on Annie’s blog post, I found myself questioning the motives of the people doing this work. After reading this article critiquing Hantz Farms and their profit driven operation, I realized that this is definitely not the only thing like this happening in Detroit. There are many private, profit driven operations disguising themselves as community driven.
A huge point that I am glad you brought up, Rachel, is the gentrification that is going on in Detroit. This brings me back to Hannnah’s blog post a few weeks ago where she explained how the children she worked with didn’t want to eat certain fresh foods because they were “white people food.” I think that if more companies like Hantz Farms come into Detroit then we will see even more issues with this because they aren’t working for or with the community. While it is easy to look at all of the issues with what is happening in Detroit because there are so many, I want to highlight upon the good that is happening with certain urban farming. I am glad that you took the time to post the three projects that seem to be truly working to serve their communites.
The quote that you added near the beginning about Detroit being a city of hope rather than a city of despair really helped me to understand what is happening in the minds of people living outside of Detroit. I agree that we need to look at Detroit as not a blank canvas, but a community, not a commodity.
Thank you for this thoughtful and thorough post, Rachel. I look forward to our discussion on Thursday.
Reading through this material brought up so many issues and idea for me. I’ll pull out a few of them here…
ReplyDeleteFrom the first article, I was interested in the difference between community gardens and urban farms. The connotations of those two phrases are so different, in such critical ways. Community gardens focus on place and people-based resiliency; a community’s ability to produce their own sustenance together. It is working towards an independence of the corporate food system for the true well being and health of people and relationships. This work is generated by the people in there – you can’t really be a part of a community garden without being part of that community.
An urban farm signifies setting and business. It’s a food growing operation within a city. On land that has been ‘abandoned’ or left by force or choice. To me, an urban farm is more about taking advantage of unused space (maybe without regard to what the space had been used for, or why it is empty) to produce. Maybe these operations feed more people, maybe they bring economic prosperity to the area. And maybe they don’t focus as much on relational work and intentional support of existing work and communities.
On the ‘about us’ page of Detroit Black Food Security, I appreciated this quote:
“We observed that many of the key players in the local urban agriculture movement were young whites, who while well-intentioned, never-the-less, exerted a degree of control inordinate to their numbers in Detroit’s population. Many of those individuals moved to Detroit from other places specifically to engage in agricultural or other food security work. It was and is our view that the most effective movements grow organically from the people whom they are designed to serve.”
I think that sums up some of the differences between community gardens and urban farms that I’m trying to tease out…
Thanks Rachel – looking forward to class discussion!
It seems to me that Feedom Freedom is an effort and an organization working much in the same vein and mindset as the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network headed up by Malik Yakini. Similarly, it captures the important distinction between working within a community to which you already belong and share lived experiences with and working from the outside under the assumption that you will be a beneficial power and form of help in that community.
ReplyDeleteI have thought a lot this year about my position working in the communities I have been working in while at K. While I think it is really important to be an active ally to food security movements and racial justice movements, it is also important to work towards an understanding of your space in that community as an outsider on some level. I think that there is a place for young white people entering Detroit in an effort to generate positive change, but I think it is more as a form of support in the efforts that have already been underway for a long time by the people who live the experience of their own community’s hardships and positive growths.
In working as solutionaries and revolutionaries, I think one of the most important things to keep in mind as a white ally is fulfilling the role of an amplifier and a supporter, not a leader. I agree with Hannah's point on the importance of understanding your positionality and reflecting on the space that you take up within a community, especially as an outsider. Reading the posts for this week, what has stuck out to me is that there are organizations run by and for community members, but they are not always the ones getting the resources. From reading the links and watching the videos, it seems like a lot of the well-intentioned white people are actually diverting resources away from community-based organizations and playing into the gentrification and white-supremisist rhetoric taking place around in Detroit. In order to break the cycle of white ownership over black communities, there needs to be a commitment to changing the way that the distribution of resources happens in Detroit and the way that people view the city; it is not a blank slate or a lost cause and it is definitely not up for grabs. It has been really interesting for me to reflect on the way that I grew up learning about Detroit and I appreciate these conversations that challenge those conceptions of the way Detroit is and why.
ReplyDeleteThanks you Rachel for bringing up so many critical points and perspectives, I am looking forward to our class discussion.
I really appreciated the variety of sources you shared, Rachel, especially the Grace Lee Boggs quotes. The differences I see between organization like Feedom Freedom Urban Growers or Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and Hantz Woodlands is that some organization seek to radically transform systems as they stand now, and others hope to change them into newer versions of the olds systems. In order to be solutionaries, I think it’s very important to incorporate both visionaries and doing-the-work people. What I have always appreciated about Grace Lee Boggs is her ability to think outside of the box, in ways that are not only larger but also radically different. However, it is through organizations like Detroit Black Community Food Security Network where these ideas can be tested. Another aspect of transformational change that I have been thinking about a lot recently is that change does happen slowly, even though there is such an urgency to start. I was speaking with an activist friend recently and he said something that I find really powerful. He described his work as acting as a midwife, giving birth to the new world to come. This, to me, is what solutionaries should seek – to be developing the structures for the full transformation of the world to come in the future. All of the changes may not happen in my lifetime (though I think it is 100% possible some can), but I can support the creation of the future.
ReplyDeleteMariah crystalized some of what I've been thinking: "some organization[s] seek to radically transform systems as they stand now, and others hope to change them into never versions of the same old systems." This is really important to me, because I think that nothing less than radical transformation is going to bring about the changes that I hope for, inside and out. And since I'm a product of current systems and so immersed in them, it's very difficult to enact those radical transformations, even in my daily choices, and sometimes it's difficult even to be aware of the choices to do something different that are available to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that you suggested the article "A Tale of Two Farms." I wasn't thinking deeply enough about all of the issues involved in the Hantz Farms situation and framing this as a land-grab helped me to see the problems involved more clearly. It's not about "rescuing" as I stated in my response to Annie's blog, it's about securing property as a financial asset. Which is simply perpetuating the system, not truly changing anything.
Our relationship to land and property is something we rarely question in our culture--individual property ownership is taken for granted and it's also taken for granted that those with fewer financial resources will have less access to land. But it doesn't have to be this way. What if access to land was considered a right, not a privilege? What if land was held communally, not individually?
The solution to people losing their homes isn't to have some big company buy up all the land--it's to change the social circumstances that forced people to lose their homes in the first place! Radical transformation, not superficial transformation.
In response to Rachel's final questions, I'm thinking about the "Transition Town" movement, which you can find more information about here: http://www.transitionus.org/home. There are several Transition Town groups in Southwest Michigan, including a newly formed one in Kalamazoo.
Thanks so much for providing so many resources Rachel! The quote about viewing land as more than just a commodity really stood out to me. As humans, we have a very long way to go regarding the way we view not only land, but all other organisms on this planet. We are the only species that hasn’t learned how to live in harmony with the planet rather than simply exploiting it. I think Amy’s idea of land being held communally is a good one, but will involve some major shifts in our mindset.
ReplyDeleteI’m still grappling with the question of how to be solutionaries without contributing to systems of power and oppression. I posted on Annie’s blog that sometimes we need to just start doing something. But now I’m not sure! As an example, it’s hard for me to say whether the Hantz group is more beneficial or harmful to that community. I think this is where many people start to feel directionless and even hopeless. They get stuck because they don’t know how to start or how to help. So…I’m excited to hear everyone’s ideas in discussion!
I think that the Freedom Grower's philosophy: "We grow food as a revolutionary act of love for self and others, That Were Employing the resources put in place to sustain life: sun, earth, our own work. We are working Toward Being That community built on love, joy and hope; That beloved community That Dr. King spoke of building," shows their true colors, and I'd love to see more groups with philosophies like theirs.
ReplyDeleteThe key to making change in Detroit and elsewhere is to put people first. Not economic opportunity or other intangibles. That is so idealistic, though - almost naive. The reality is that it costs money every year to own land. Property tax is real. Imagine a system in which local organic farms weren't taxed, but in fact were supported by tax dollars! Wouldn't that be nice… Every neighborhood could have community gardens that they help take care of. I don't know.
I like the initiatives that are emerging in Detroit, and they are inspiring. But I know that it will continue to be difficult to make changes from the bottom up, if the top isn't willing to budge.
It is difficult to decipher the true goodness of our actions. The US military goes out into the world to "help" (I'm sure we can all see through the propaganda on this one by now). But what about the Hantz group coming into Detroit? Is that just like our military establishing bases in foreign lands? I'm not sure.
Looking forward to hearing other ideas on this, because I want to help, but am experiencing analysis paralysis.
I think that I feel like my stance is similar to that of Emily's. On Annie's post I mentioned that I feel frustrated by how much inaction is occurring... just sitting back and theorizing until we can come up with the perfect solution before acting. It often seems to me that the best way to understand the underlying implications of action is to first do it, because it's impossible to calculate all the possible consequences. But I think that you bring up a lot of valid points Rachel, especially if one of these solutions ends up being detrimental and irreversible.
ReplyDeleteI really like this topic in regards to Matt Birkhold's keynote discussion where he brought in that we need to be a people focused society. I think especially in light of this topic this idea is central! Focusing on people instead of seeing economic opportunities or ways in which to make ourselves as individuals feel important is key to better understanding how to create positive change.
While reading the freedom freedom website, I really liked the quote from the Prophet Isaiah that said “they look upon a city destroyed by the empire, a city that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up”. This made me think that Detroit needed to be rebuilt but then I thought that no it needed to be builded on. There seem to be many grassroots, positive ag-movements happening in the city and instead of creating new ones (for profit) the ones that already exist must be built upon. I think that is crucial. As Rachel brought to light, some of the city members were already carrying the food movement and were only noticed when the “hippies” came to town.
ReplyDeleteThis interests me because I do not feel very connected to the city. I grew up in Ann Arbor and would go to Detroit as a child with my family in the summers for the Hart Plaza music festivals and such but never felt as though I could call it my city. I wonder for those people who are more connected with the city if they have an understanding as to how the community members respond and engage in programs and organizations such as Detroit Black Food Security and Brother Nature? As it seems that many of these programs are located directly in the hearts of these communities and are run by community members, who participates? Are there people that cannot find the time to help out on the garden? What does it actually look like? Do people come and learn how to rejuvenate soil, plant seeds, etc? I feel that the websites gave me a great idea as to what the motives but I guess I just wonder what the interactions are with the community and what a day at a program like this would look like. Excited for discussion tomorrow.
While reading the gentrification article it immediately made me think about the Hanz Woodlands project. The man in the videos main goal at the end was to have the neighborhoods he is working on be desired by outsiders. The type of change that Hanz is endorsing seems like it would ultimately promote gentrification of Detroit neighborhoods. On their website they outline a plan to create neat uniform lines of aesthetically pleasing trees, attracting people to move to that area. The Freedom Growers initiative described by Wayne and Myrtle Curtis, however, creates sustainable change that will strengthen the community of current residents and not promote gentrification. I think this quote really demonstrates their desire to integrate everyone into the decisions they are striving to make: “We are learning problem solving together and strive to incorporate humanistic practices in our dealings with each other.”
ReplyDeleteThe Freedom Growers program is a great example of an organization that is self-aware and working towards site-specific solutions. In terms of solutions to issues in Kalamazoo, I think collaboration with all representatives of the community is important and really trying to incorporate the perspectives of those who are disproportionally impacted by our local food desert. One way to develop really creative and appropriate solutions to problems facing our community is making sure everyone feels able to contribute potential resolutions.
I look forward to our discussion tomorrow
Like Laura said, I think understanding the motives behind the people doing this type of work is extremely important. It's important to build the community as a whole, not just provide growth from an economic standpoint. It's definitely difficult to know what the best angle is to approach these issues, but I tend to think getting community members themselves involved in being a part of the solution has the potential for the most positive outcome.
ReplyDeleteThis is an area that I'm not as familiar with, so thanks for bringing this topic to discussion! I think it's so important to look at things from a solution-based perspective, otherwise we simply get bogged down in the current state of affairs and that can really promote negativity.