Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement by Monica M. White

Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement Reviews

• 
  sunny (ethel cain’s version)

  As I continue my research on starting my first vegetable garden, I’m already being fed such nourishment!! This book was absolutely incredible and also has lead the way to so many more resources!
  
  Here are some amazing Black Owned Seed and Veggie Gardening Companies that you should definitely check out!!
  
  igrowshit.com
  
  melanatedorganics.com
  
  cocoandseed.com
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  Nicoleen

  I read this for a book club. While my enjoyment level of this was about a 4, this is due to the academic tone and nature. But that is the point of the book. I did find the topic and content fascinating and important. I would love to know about and read an author's historical fiction retelling about this, that would be fun. Overall, well worth the read.
• 
  Laura

  (Full disclosure: the author is a former colleague and a dear friend.).
  
  This is a fabulous book that corrects the way the historical record has erased black Americans from narratives of urban agriculture. The chapter on Fannie Lou Hamer is amazing and should be required reading for anyone who studies urban agriculture.
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  caro

  i couldn’t sleep bc of how inspired Freedom Farmers got me. i consistently talk abt the gaps within the dietetics curriculum. i now know that the principles established in Freedom Farmers specifically collective agency and community resiliency will be a founding pillar in my teaching of community nutrition as a student and future professor. Incorporation of the examples listed in the text are necessary in the discipline. aHhhhh
• 
  Nicole Aziz

  so enlightening. never realized how much black farmers suffered and how much they impact entire black food justice. I had to read this for a research paper but it was super interesting
• 
  Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading)

  Freedom Farmers expands the historical narrative of the black freedom struggle to embrace the work, roles, and contributions of southern black farmers and the organizations they formed. Whereas existing scholarship generally views agriculture as a site of oppression and exploitation of black people, this book reveals agriculture as a site of resistance and provides a historical foundation that adds meaning and context to current conversations around the resurgence of food justice/sovereignty movements in urban spaces like Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, and New Orleans.
• 
  Jessica

  Freedom Farmers explores the often overlooked or ignored history of black farmers and farming/food cooperatives that were formed in the time of the civil rights movement in order to help black families survive and thrive in the South. Monica White starts by showing how three influential black men started this agricultural freedom movement - Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and W.E.B. Du Bois. Then she goes into the history of cooperative farming movements giving another three examples - Fannie Lou Hamer's Freedom Farm Cooperative, North Bolivar County Farm Cooperative, and The Federation of Southern Cooperatives (the only one still in operation at the time of publication). The last chapter focuses on the history and current urban farming movement in Detroit, Michigan. The whole book shows the importance of food freedom. When you are not starving and have access to healthy, quality food you can then focus on other issues. The book also highlights some of the shameful historical parts of the South where white people worked overtime to keep black people "in their place." I was shocked to read about white, Southern government officials purposely stopping federal funding to some of these cooperative agencies - funding that was specifically for poverty issues. That's why books like this are important so we can see how those parts of history have shaped the way things are today. I will say my only complaint with this book was that the tone was very scholarly. It was not a super-easy read even though it's only 147 pages. I saw a few reviews that said they wished she had included more personal stories from people in the cooperatives and I would have liked that as well. I think more personal stories would have made it more readable as well. But, overall and important book about food and freedom.
  
  Some quotes I liked:
  
  "[George Washington Carver] was what today would be called a permaculturist, one who believes in the value of developing 'Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre, and energy for provision of local food needs.' Carver's work used sustainable products from organic, natural sources...In an era when few appreciated its significance, Carver waxed eloquent about composting..." (p. 46-47)
  
  "One measure of the respect Carver's inventions gained in their day is that Henry Ford asked him to assist with the development of peanuts and soybeans to create fuel, paint, and plastics for the burgeoning automobile industry. Thomas Edison also offered Carver a six-figure salary to move to New Jersey to work in his labs. In a demonstration of his dedication to his work with black farmers, Carver refused, preferring to stay at Tuskegee." (p. 49)
  
  "Down where we are, food is used as a political weapon. But if you have a pig in your backyard, if you have some vegetables in your garden, you can feed yourself and your family, and nobody can push you around. If we have something like some pigs and some gardens and a few things like that, even if we have no jobs, we can eat and we can look after our families. - Fannie Lou Hamer" (p. 65)
  
  "While it is important to analyze the problems that ultimately led to the demise of the [Freedom Farm Cooperative] in 1975, we should not undervalue its successes. Given its time, scope, intention, and liberatory vision, as well as the fact that this vision was enacted within a pervasively oppressive and racially hostile environment, the movement - while relatively short lived - was a manifestation of self-reliance and the capacity of a community to come together for the provision of food, housing, shelter, education, health care, and employment. This radical experiment constituted an important chapter in the black freedom movement." (p. 87)
• 
  Leah

  This book was unexpectedly fantastic. It has completely reframed my understanding of both agriculture and Black American history in a way that better incorporates Black farmers. It made me think differently about George Washington Carver as someone with a focus on restorative, sustainable agriculture.
• 
  sistaotey

  Scholarly excellence as well as engaging. Don't do Food Justice work without reading it.
• 
  kayla

  wonderful read. a must read for all, especially food workers or people interested in food sovereignty. it’s astounding to know what amazing systems Black people cobbled together against all odds. it has really encouraged me as a food worker. it feels like food sovereignty is possible. it’s violent how much of Black history is systemically erased or buried. i’m so grateful for this book and the truths that monica m. white brought forth into the 21st century.
  
  i plan on re-reading because it was saturated with history i had not ever heard. it had some familiar historical figures; booker t. washington, washington carver, w.e.b. dubois, and fannie lou hammer, but i learned about them in an entirely new and compelling way. monica m. white brought out so much of their buried accomplishments and efforts related to the food system. i had no idea about pretty much everything in the book.
  
  i work for an urban food co-op mostly comprised of white people. most people, had thought the concept of a co-op was a hippie white person thing. but through this book i learned it’s history NOT white (which makes perfect sense) and was commonly practiced throughout Black rural america.
  
  thank you to Monica m. White for her contributions to the world and the gift of this book! 💞✨
  
  
• 
  Katie

  Growing your own food is an Act of Resistance. In 2022, with crippling inflation hitting our grocery stores, I want nothing more than to grow my own food for my family and build a firm relationship with the land. In this book, the author provides a brief history of the legacy of Black people who have fought oppression through horticulture. Drawing from the efforts of George Washington Carver, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Fanny Lou Hamer, The Freedom Farmers Movement inspires Black people to renew their relationship with the land, that through the political power of cooperatives and community gardening, they can continue to dismantle systems of oppression. It gives a history of how Black grassroots organizations have established successful systems to fight for overall wellness in their communities. The information contained in this book is important because it gives credit to the ways that Black food knowledge has been both exploited and disregarded. A great quote from the conclusion: "If pain is all there was, how can we explain the Indigenous roots of the current urban farming movement spearheaded by Black people?" I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about political action through food.
• 
  Bre

  It's been a few years since I've sat down to read an educational text on agriculture, so it took me longer to read than I would have preferred.
  
  As a small farmer and a lover of history this book offers an enthralling perspective on the history of Black Americans and their relationships to agriculture, which has not always been one of slavery and exploitation. The author speaks of Civil Rights Era endeavors that connected people and communities to the land as a means of survival and political resistance. She also highlights current efforts in Detroit that are using an agricultural foundation to strengthen individuals and communities.
  
  
  Favorite quote in the book:
  "Down where we are, food is used as a political weapon. But if you have a pig in your backyard, if you have some vegetables in your garden, you can feed yourself and your family, and nobody can push you around. If we have something like some pigs and some gardens and a few things like that, even if we have no jobs, we can eat and we can look after our families." -Fannie Lou Hamer
• 
  Hannah Duiven

  I read this for the TNFP book club this month and it will inform my relationship to my work and to food sovereignty as a whole in big ways moving forward. It was a helpful history lesson about the most important black voices in the world of agriculture and farming collectives, but more importantly I feel that it exists as a narrative of black joy, resilience, power, and collective action within farming - rather than the stories we often hear of the black experience of farming that is centered on black pain, death, and oppression. I am reminded by this book that the food justice/food sovereignty movement is not new and did not originate in white communities (although it is often whitewashed) and I bear a new responsibility to acknowledge this known truth in my own work within food justice at a primarily white organization.
  
  Coming from a background in sociology, I loved the theoretical framework lens and the way the author outlined Community Resilience and Collective Action within the different organizations highlighted.
• 
  Annapurna

  I got a copy of this in late September of 2019, because on Sept 26 I had gone to a talk Monica White gave about the black agricultural movement.
  It was so invigorating, inspiring, hopeful and powerful that I remember the exact date, and reading her book is the same way. Freedom Farmers is a must-read for all Americans and anybody who eats food. It is moving and powerful and effectively communicates agriculture as resistance and a political tool, specifically for African American communities all over the nation. This book discusses racism, the power dynamics of nutrition and health, community development, political organizing and resistance, regenerative and circular economic structures, sustainability, connection to land, and voter suppression. I think Monica White is inspirational and this book is fantastic in its content and creation of a narrative that is an energizing call for action and resistance.
• 
  Lisa

  This book goes beyond an existing emphasis on subjugation, violence, and exploitation in narrating black Americans' relationship to the land by focusing on how agriculture has also long comprised a site of collective struggle, resistance, and liberation. White focuses in particular on efforts among black farmers to create agricultural cooperatives "as a space and place to practice freedom" (3), advancing the notions of Collective Agency and Community Resilience as a way to theorize the prefigurative politics, economic autonomy, and emphasis on commons as praxis that contributed to the success of such cooperatives historically. White could have written hundreds and hundreds of pages but instead shares a succinct, powerful, and to-the-point commentary that accessibly connects histories of black resistance to white power struggles to the contemporary food movement. 10/10.
• 
  Chu

  Rewrites the narrative of agriculture as a site of oppression as one of resistance. Well-researched book! However, the analytical framework of Collective Action and Community Resilience (CACR) was not particularly meaningful. Resilience usually connotes a status quo to return to. Is there? Engages with James Scott's idea of "everyday acts of resistance", but only tangentially since the Black cooperative agricultural movement is probably more organised than casual. Still, very important work.
• 
  Chris

  This is an exhilarating, thorough, and thoughtful examination of recent coooperative endeavors in post Civil Rights black history. Ms White describes the pro agricultural narrative that has been overlooked and suppressed in retelling African American histories and the community connection with he land. She describes how these efforts are characterized by key strategies that support collective success for alternative economy among marginalized people that can be applied going forward.
• 
  Natasha

  Brilliant introduction to Black agricultural cooperatives & food/ag resistance. A ton of history that is typically erased - the radical role of Black farmers in movements for freedom. Theory felt a bit like bookends surrounding historical description, but the history was incredibly rich & so valuable, especially given the lack of this narrative in a lot of conversations around liberation & broader food movements.
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  Maria Jose

  An incredible project that connects insightful methodology, theoretical framework, praxis with Black American history in agriculture. Reading this book serves everyone. It has been instrumental in investigating questions about foodways and resistance efforts/movements in the US. Monica White's work is instrumental to understanding the impact of Black farmers in American and the oppressive systems Black agriculture navigated for Black Americans.
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  K Kriesel

  Very grateful for this book as a resource. It is very academic and dense, which I appreciate but I know that can push others away. Even though the book is very short, it would make an excellent book club read so members can help each other through the dense material over a month or two.
  
  I listened to the audiobook, which Monica White reads herself. At times she reads too quickly and it can be difficult to absorb the weight of the material.
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  Steven McIntyre II

  It’s always very hard for me to rate more academic, non-fiction books. I learned a lot about Black farmers and how farm work in the context of Co-ops and community-based organization has lead to liberation: liberation from food deserts, liberation from being beholden to systems of power, and liberation from oppressive capitalist structures. It’s not a long book and there’s a lot of history I didn’t personally know, so I recommend it!
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  Candice

  This is a very important read, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to read Monica White’s thoroughly-researched book on the history of Black agriculture. I gave it three stars because I, personally, found it very hard to digest. I would have enjoyed it more as a mix of research and anecdotal accounts. I felt like I was reading a very long—very important, mind you—sociology essay.
• 
  Diane

  Monica White is a clear and brilliant writer who makes a subject she is passionate about easily readable and understandable. Her research always goes deep and her interpretations are right on. I highly recommend to anyone interested in food (that would be everybody) and systemic social justice.
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  Amanda

  This book was informative. I learned a lot about parts and pieces of history I didn’t know. It was at times a bit academic and not as easy to read, but overall very interesting. I read with a co-worker and we discussed each chapter. It was a good way to read.
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  Amanda Miller

  This is an academic book, and accomplishes what it sets out to. A quick deep dive into a handful black agriculture resiliency movements over the past 150 years or so. Would’ve loved a bit more narrative and a few more voices to each story.