In recent days, my heart has swung as a pendulum between deep sadness and rage, even as I strive to help it find a resting place in love. As I feel these powerful emotions, I train my focus on what I can do. I cannot shake the truth that we SHOULD NOT HAVE TO condemn brutality, risk our lives in the streets to realize justice, go to extraordinary lengths to see that our undocumented neighbors have basic necessities in a pandemic. We should each know, without raging in the streets, that Black Lives Matter. A statement of this is abundantly self-evident. It is also not enough.

Racism is perpetuated through exclusionary policies and systems everyday: acts of police violence; recruiting and hiring practices that preference Whites and those untouched by our racialized criminal justice system; banking and lending systems that ensure the very wealth on which our economy is built remains in the hands of a certain demographic segment; economies that trivialize the profoundly essential work done by farmworkers and others holding up our food system.

At Farm Discovery we believe in boldness and re-imagination that centers the experience, dreams, and possibilities of our Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other neighbors of color. We know that by lifting them up, everyone prospers. We need to claim and share this vision, without apology, and demand that our elected officials and the systems they operate also embrace it.

As individuals, particularly those in White bodies, we also need to do the difficult work of learning about, reflecting upon, and shifting the trajectory of our nation’s violent, unjust history of racism, genocide, exploitation, and oppression. If you need direction in this regard, consult Race Forward or the Institute for Othering & Belonging at UC-Berkeley.

In love and solidarity,
The Farm Discovery Staff & Board

How can you be part of the solution?

#blacklivesmatter #intersectionalenvironmentalism