Lessons of Da Land

Food Sovereignty And Land Justice in Black Philadelphia

About

This program examines the dynamics of food sovereignty and land security in the Black community of Philadelphia by exploring the histories of community agriculture, food apartheid, and land tenure. Coupled with community-based activities with local partners, this co-curricular program is designed to be an introduction to ongoing resistance movements and land-based revolutions. 

For five weeks in May and early June, participants will meet weekly to exchange, discuss resources central to food security and land sovereignty and engage with local community partners on their farms and gardens. 

Learning Objectives

Together, we will learn to:

  1. Identify localized incidences of food insecurity throughout global history; 
  2. Analyze the roles capitalism, colonialism, and the exploitation of Black and Brown people contributes to systemic inequity;
  3. Explore the origins and histories of sustainable food cultures;
  4. Engage with community partners to exchange experiences in agriculture-based food sovereignty activism;
  5. Collaborate across disciplines to build collective knowledge; and 
  6. Reflect upon our experiences and personal identities in relation to our local communities.
WATCH: Chef Dobson and Ashley Gripper discuss the importance of urban agriculture in preserving our history and promoting food sovereignty.

Schedule and Workshops

Week 1- Introduction to Community Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

African Agricultural Practices with a community partner 

Week 2- Journey to Americas

Seed-keeping with a community partner

Week 3- “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”: The Reconstruction Era

Building with a community partner

Week 4- “A Pig and A Garden”: The Civil Rights Era

Harvesting and food distribution preparation with a community partner

Week 5- “We are Each Others’ Harvest”: Food Sovereignty Today

Communal meal with a community partner

Program Costs

  • Program Fee: $50 per participant
  • The program fee is paid in two installments.
    • Application fee: $25 (All applicants must pay this fee. If you are not accepted, it will be refunded)
    • Final Payment: $25 (This will be requested after admittance to the program)
  • Included:
    • Food sovereignty starter kit
    • Required reading materials
    • Septa Key/transportation costs
    • Community meal
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Our Partners

We are an intergenerational, spiritually-rooted, African diasporic centered farm.

Sankofa means, “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot”.

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We provide education and training to Black, brown, and Indigenous people on agriculture, survival, self-defense, carpentry, and self and community healing.

“All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.” – Lauren Oya Olamina, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

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Exploring the ways in which Black women authors use food and language as a means of liberation, expression and cultural preservation.

“The people made art, sang praisesongs, offered food to their ancestors, drank palm wine, and sang songs of praise to such a splendid homeland.” – Vertamae Cooks in The Americas’ Family Kitchen, 1996

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