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“Farming While Black” Screening & Discussion
October 25 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm EDT
Join us for a screening of the feature-length documentary film Farming While Black followed by a panel discussion which will include local Black farmers and gardeners, moderated by Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm. Complimentary light refreshments will be served featuring Soul Fire Farm’s harvest and provided by Rumah Kitchen. The screening will be preceded by a Be The Media! workshop with the film’s director, Mark Decena from 5-6pm.
Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, reflects on the plight of Black farmers in the United States. From the height of Black-owned farms at 14% in 1910 to less than 2% today. Leah and her Soul Fire Farm cohorts help propel a rising generation finding strength in the deep historical knowledge of African agrarianism – and its potential to save the planet.
This event is co-curated by Kathy High and Branda Miller, and is a collaboration with the RPI’s iEAR Presents series, supported by the Department of Arts and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Farming While Black is a feature-length documentary film which examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.
As the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York, Leah Penniman finds strength in the deep historical knowledge of African agrarianism – agricultural practices that can heal people and the planet. Influenced and inspired by Karen Washington, a pioneer in urban community gardens in New York City, and fellow farmer and organizer Blain Snipstal, Leah galvanizes around farming as the basis of revolutionary justice.
In 1910, Black farmers owned 14 percent of all American farmland. Over the intervening decades, that number fell below two percent, the result of racism, discrimination, and dispossession. The film chronicles Penniman and two other Black farmers’ efforts to reclaim their agricultural heritage. Collectively, their work has a major impact, as each is a leader in sustainable agriculture and food justice movements.
Featured Guests:
Leah Penniman, Soul Fire Farm, Grafton NY
Jammella Anderson, Free Food Fridge, Troy NY
Monti Lawson, Catalyst Collaborative Farm, Millerton NY
Tsehaya Smith, Soul Fire in the City, Troy NY
Clara AgborTabi, Soul Fire Farm Alumni Coordinator, Grafton NY
Jalal Sabur, Sweet Freedom Farm, Germantown NY
We are committed to lowering the barriers to access for events at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. For people who are hard of hearing or deaf, blind or low-vision, or whose physical limitations can interfere with a satisfying experience, let us know two weeks in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.
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