Jennifer Steverson: African American Sustainability in Central Brooklyn

posted by brooklynfoodconference, on June 2, 2009

FOOD REBELLIONS WORKSHOP

Jennifer Steverson is the public programs curator for the Weeksville Heritage Center. Weeksville’s mission is to document, preserve and interpret the history of free African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn and beyond, and to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of African American history through education, the arts, and civic engagement.

The historic houses on Hunterfly Road. Photo by Scott Ellison Smith, courtesy of Weeksville Heritage Center.

The history of African Americans is an environmental history. African Americans have shaped and created the American landscape through work on farms, in cities and factories, on railroads, docks. First working as exploited laborers, African Americans were able to establish thriving, self-sufficient communities in all regions of the United States in the 19th and early 20th century. Only a few remnants of this time remain today.  Weeksville was one such place, founded in 1838 as an intentional community by seven African American men.

It was a community with a high percentage of land ownership, which created an important political base and voting block. At the time the community was founded, voting rights were based on land ownership and also the length of time that a man (of course) resided in the city. The community also had food sovereignty. Growing food and eating well was a rebellious act, an act of survival during times of hardship and scarcity.

Residents of Weeksville grew food in their yards, kept chickens and goats and bartered with neighbors. These traditions continued through to the 1930’s Great Depression era and even into the 1970s and 1980s, a time of urban renewal when empty lots gave birth to community gardens. When we think of land ownership in Black communities we should remember that there were more Black farmers in the 1870s and 1900s there are today. Violence and intimidation did something that not even the Civil Rights Movement could undo. It drove African Americans from land that they owned.

When we look at what’s going on now with the credit crisis and predatory lending, we see some of the same patterns being repeated. In order for people to rebel they have to be able to control production of food, so owning land in an urban place is still very important. I believe land ownership is one of the key components for food rebellions. It’s really interesting that despite the many rights people gained during the Civil Rights Movement, they still were not able to turn back the tide of African Americans losing land they owned. That’s a preamble to some of the things going on in Central Brooklyn today.

Central Brooklyn, the area surrounding Weeksville, is still predominantly African American. We have a lot of community gardens, but we also have a lot of housing projects. If you live in a housing project in New York City, you’re not allowed to have a window box. New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) limits growing food on land in public housing because of concerns about rodents and things like that. NYCHA does have an office of greening and community development, but it is restricted to ornamentals—things like flowers. Ornamentals are good but not as useful as food, not when you think about the rising cost of and lack of access to fresh produce.

In many working-class communities, the closest grocery story is a bodega where you can get processed or cooked food but not fresh produce. It’s really important as we think about eating locally or eating organic that we talk about access. Who has access to local food? Who has access to organic food? Unfortunately, local food and organic food have become a luxury in New York City.

Our Farmers’ Market: Oasis in a Food Desert

A shopper examines a butternut squash. Photo courtesy of Weeksville Heritage Center

In 2006, Weeksville Heritage Center created a farmers’ market to address the lack of affordable fresh, local produce in the surrounding community. The area around the museum is a “food desert.” Our farmers’ market is run by youth volunteers, and we basically purchase food from New York State farmers and then sell it at a very affordable cost.

We also sell food that we grow in the Kitchen Garden behind the historic houses, where we grow heirlooms and large varieties of vegetables. We  grow organically, which is very important because, again, we’re trying to get people to look to the past to try to inspire their lives today.

When you think of the environmental movement, think of your grandmother, not just celebrities and hybrid cars. There are people in your lives today, probably older people, who could tell you a lot about what it means to grow food, what it means to can and what it means to cook. These are the skills we need to reclaim today in order to have food sovereignty.

At our farmers’ market, we accept:

• EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer), a form of food stamps.
• Health Bucks, a really great program. If you spend a certain amount of money, you get back two dollars in Health Bucks.
• Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons. These are coupons that go out to senior citizens and young families.
• WIC checks, the Women, Infant and Children’s Program. Traditionally, WIC has been a supplemental nutrition program that has focused on dairy and protein, but for the first time this year WIC families will be able to use their checks to purchase produce. This will do two things. It will allow more people to shop at the farmers markets, increase income for local farmers and it will also encourage bodega owners to carry fresh produce.

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Starting on July 11, the Farmers’ Market will be open every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. will

Green Weeksville: Our Gardening Program for Second Graders

Planting in the Kitchen Garden. Photo courtesy of Weeksville Heritage Center

Green Weeksville is our gardening program for second graders from PS No. 243, a direct descendant of Colored School #2, which was founded by the people of Weeksville in 1847 when Blacks were not allowed to attend public schools. The second graders come to the Kitchen Garden at Weeksville to learn about gardening, ecology and nutrition. They plant vegetables and learn about heirloom varieties and the different vegetables that can be grown here.

We’re growing many different varieties so that the children can discover interesting varieties of heirlooms, for instance, Purple Peruvian Potatoes and Fish Peppers, an African American heirloom from Maryland. Central Brooklyn has an alarming number of children who suffer from diabetes and obesity, so it’s really important to reach out to the children.

A cooking demo at the farmers’ market. Photo courtesy of Weeksville Heritage Center

Rebellion Can Start on Your Windowsill
Our farmers’ market and garden are more than places to buy and learn about food. They are also community spaces, where neighbors meet. There are inter-generational dialogues that happen around food and cooking which is so important for reclaiming food sovereignty. People learn about preparing fresh produce. Our farmers’ market offers free gardening and cooking workshops so people can feel empowered about what they eat and also feel empowered to grow their own food. Food rebellion and food sovereignty are very much about cooking your own food and growing your own food, even if you start with a little bit of lettuce on the windowsill.

Workshop Description: Food Rebellions. Over the last year there have been over 30 food rebellions or “riots,” primarily in third world nations. This workshop examines the causes of steeply rising food prices and shortages in poor nations, the history of food riots in the US, and how farmers and consumers are struggling to push back.

Other Speakers: Raj Patel (Stuffed and Starved), Bazelais Jean-Baptiste (Bassin Zim Education & Development Fund). Moderator: Ashley Dawson (CUNY Graduate Center)

Other BFC Speeches
Keynotes: Redmond | Patel | Prof. Louie | Lappé |
Food Sovereignty: D. Jackson | da Silva |
Food Rebellions: Patel |
Young Farmers: Rooftop Farmers | Franklin | Fleming |

—Transcribed and compiled by Paige Churchman