Reposted for Caryl Henry Alexander: https://blackfarmersindex.com/reg-3-maryland
Black Farmers Index started as a solutions-based journalism project launched by Ark Republic on April 14, 2020, to provide a small list of Black farmers to address the rising food security issues during the global pandemic.
Initially, the list was 150 farmers. Today, we have over 1,200 row crop farmers, ranchers, poultry farmers, vegetable and fruit producers, grains and nut harvesters, beekeepers, fisherfolk, oystermen, foresters, foragers, and vintners.
How did we grow? Because of the overwhelming response from the public during the George Floyd protests, when Juneteenth came along, there was an explosion of people across racial and social lines interested in supporting Black growers. Quickly, the Index organically evolved into its own identity.
In July 2020, we became a non-profit organization. In November 2021, we were granted 501 c3 status.
Today, we focus on several main areas:
1. Expanding the directory
2. Highlighting Black agriculturalists
3. Bringing business to our Index members
4. Providing information to farmers
5. Educating farmers and the public
6. Hosting events connecting growers to consumers
7. Researching and writing reports on Black farmers
The Back Story
Food is the backbone of any society. During the global Covid-19 crisis, food as the world's lifeline has become more evident. However, when the online news outlet Ark Republic saw growing food insecurities in the US, they wanted to offer a solution.
During Ark Republic’s reporting and analysis from China to Europe, they predicted that food security would be one of the most critical issues in the US. When they discovered the fast-growing food security issues in the country, they wanted to offer a solution rather than continue to report on the problems. One of their answers was to compile a list of Black farmers who could sell directly to consumers immediately.
They selected Black farmers due to an ongoing history of experiencing the roughest hardships during every economic crisis in the US. In general, Blacks have undergone generations of systemic racism and domestic terror, but agrarian Black communities were the first, and longest to know the various types of economic assault and lack of security post-Emancipation. Knowing that, we concluded that the most vulnerable and exploited group in the farming industry should be used.
From a practical view, Black farmers understand how to carry out some of the most challenging work with little resources. With the current state of the US, we are in dire need of that type of mastery of knowledge. As a result, Ark Republic reached out to farming networks on several social media platforms, spoke to farmers directly, and conducted extensive research for two weeks.
In the first wave of data gathering, they discovered a grave lack of information on Black farms and farmers, which proved difficult for our project. According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2017, there were 3.2 million white farmers, but only 45,508 Black-owned farms. Along with their under-representation and financial woes, we discovered that many Black farmers fall within the Baby Boomer generation and have limited access to technology or effective digital literacy skills. Nonetheless, the response was overwhelming by a younger wave of the Black agrarian community who insisted on compiling data for them.
Due to the strong response, the Black Farmers Index was birthed as its own entity. It became a non-profit organization in July 2020. Now, it is a sister organization and fiscal sponsor to Ark Republic.
In the Black Farmer’s Index, we offer a region-by-region listing of Black farms. The data is ever-growing, so if you have a farmer to add, we welcome the addition.
Behind The Index
