These reflection pieces were written by participants of the first Lessons of Da Land cohort at the end of the program. Our discussions throughout the course continuously circled back to learning from two central beings, “da ancestors” and “da seeds”, which inspired the selected themes of their essays. In turn, their reflections inspired the expansion of our work into Seeds of Liberation.

Lessons of Da Seeds

By Eboni, Celeste and Alex

Growing our own food in the twenty-first century is often presented as a new trend, but the history of Black farmers begs to differ. Often the most lauded proponents and practitioners of urban gardening, interest in locally grown, heirloom foods and sustainable land practices are so often presented as white people with economic privilege. An examination of the African diaspora shows that African people have long been stewards of the land despite modern land movements suggesting otherwise. The connection to land began with the planting of seeds and has been the place of connection physically and spiritually for Black people and has allowed Black communities to keep the connection to their own community and culture. In The Cooking Gene, Michael Twitty writes about starting a garden not out of luxury but out of necessity. Gardening and seed keeping is still not a luxury for so many African Americans. The connections to the land can be a matter of survival.

By Eboni, Celeste and Alex

Growing our own food in the twenty-first century is often presented as a new trend, but the history of Black farmers begs to differ. Often the most lauded proponents and practitioners of urban gardening, interest in locally grown, heirloom foods and sustainable land practices are so often presented as white people with economic privilege. An examination of the African diaspora shows that African people have long been stewards of the land despite modern land movements suggesting otherwise. The connection to land began with the planting of seeds and has been the place of connection physically and spiritually for Black people and has allowed Black communities to keep the connection to their own community and culture. In The Cooking Gene, Michael Twitty writes about starting a garden not out of luxury but out of necessity. Gardening and seed keeping is still not a luxury for so many African Americans. The connections to the land can be a matter of survival.

Money was tight, and growing his own food allowed him to stretch his money further to feed himself and eventually others. Enslaved people grew their own food when possible as an act of survival and resistance. Once freed African Americans sought to deepen their roots to Southern land by maintaining and sharing knowledge with others. There were many reasons for this; such as access to land, legacy and the passing down of culture and eventually liberation. 

We see persistence in seeds that are grown in hostile environments but grow regardless. There are stories of grandmothers transporting their crops and seeds from the south from the north despite the less than ideal growing conditions for some of the plants and seeds up north. This illustrates how many diasporic crops are resilient and able to “grow where they are planted” which mirrors the experiences of the Black people who carried them.

In The Shadow of Slavery, there is a further message of how the seeds of the diaspora and the African peoples journey can mirror each other. And how the journey of the seed is meaningful in terms of how African people had to navigate and journey within America and ensure their own survival through seed keeping. Like the seeds from the fertile land; being planted in spaces that won’t sustain you but learning to change, move and resist the systems that want to break you is a matter of life and death when you did not have the choice to be uprooted in the first place. The journey of African crops to North America cannot be separated from the forced transport of enslaved Africans centuries ago. Even though we don’t know the origin of every seed, they all have made their mark in the story of resilience and survival of Black people. 

“Plant domestication in Africa represents a significant contribution to world agriculture. Africans added three important cereals, a half-dozen root crops, five oil-producing plants, more than a dozen leafy vegetables and greens, about a half-dozen forage crops, a variety of beans, nuts and fruits, in addition to the versatile gourd (used as a container, for musical instruments, and fishing floats). Many of these crops are today vital to the sustenance of millions living in tropical areas around the world.” (18)

These reflection pieces were written by participants of the first Lessons of Da Land cohort at the end of the program. Our discussions throughout the course continuously circled back to learning from two central beings, “da ancestors” and “da seeds”, which inspired the selected themes of their essays. In turn, their reflections inspired the expansion of our work into Seeds of Liberation.

Money was tight, and growing his own food allowed him to stretch his money further to feed himself and eventually others. Enslaved people grew their own food when possible as an act of survival and resistance. Once freed African Americans sought to deepen their roots to Southern land by maintaining and sharing knowledge with others. There were many reasons for this; such as access to land, legacy and the passing down of culture and eventually liberation. 

We see persistence in seeds that are grown in hostile environments but grow regardless. There are stories of grandmothers transporting their crops and seeds from the south from the north despite the less than ideal growing conditions for some of the plants and seeds up north. This illustrates how many diasporic crops are resilient and able to “grow where they are planted” which mirrors the experiences of the Black people who carried them.

In The Shadow of Slavery, there is a further message of how the seeds of the diaspora and the African peoples journey can mirror each other. And how the journey of the seed is meaningful in terms of how African people had to navigate and journey within America and ensure their own survival through seed keeping. Like the seeds from the fertile land; being planted in spaces that won’t sustain you but learning to change, move and resist the systems that want to break you is a matter of life and death when you did not have the choice to be uprooted in the first place. The journey of African crops to North America cannot be separated from the forced transport of enslaved Africans centuries ago. Even though we don’t know the origin of every seed, they all have made their mark in the story of resilience and survival of Black people. 

“Plant domestication in Africa represents a significant contribution to world agriculture. Africans added three important cereals, a half-dozen root crops, five oil-producing plants, more than a dozen leafy vegetables and greens, about a half-dozen forage crops, a variety of beans, nuts and fruits, in addition to the versatile gourd (used as a container, for musical instruments, and fishing floats). Many of these crops are today vital to the sustenance of millions living in tropical areas around the world.” (18)

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