Growing the Legacy: Stewarding a Black Agrarian Revival in the Rural South
Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network is excited to share with you our newly published report Growing the Legacy: Stewarding a Black Agrarian Revival in the Rural South. The report is a culmination of many years of work at SAAFON and serves as an introduction to the topic of Black agrarianism and land loss. It contains a description of SAAFON, interviews with selected legacy farmer-members and beginning farmers, and a brief outline of strategies to interrupt land loss and facilitate a Black agrarian revival in the Southeast. SAAFON hopes to continue to publish its unique content on reviving Black agrarianism and interrupting land loss with a particular focus on farmer stories, historical narratives, and detailed strategies.
We invite you to share widely amongst your networks as you see fit – peer organizations, colleagues, clients, reading groups & book clubs, friends and family.
Who We Are
SAAFON is a regional network for Black farmers committed to using ecologically sustainable practices to manage their land and the natural systems on it in order to grow food and raise livestock that are healthy for people and the planet. Many of our farms have been in the same Black family
for over 100 years and, as such, are historical treasures. Click below to learn more about SAAFON farmers.
What We Do
SAAFON’ s higher calling is to seek the liberation and empowerment of Black people through agricultural, food, and land-based strategies. We promote agricultural production and land management practices that are rooted in indigenous ways of knowing that span geographies, space and time. We recognize, honor and uplift the ways of our ancestors and ask
for their guidance as we show how Black agrarianism offers solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our communities. The SAAFON network allows our members to connect with like – minded farmers, to build collective power in order to achieve our visions of land-based success, and to model alternative ways of living in the 21 st century. Click below to learn more about how we work with farmers.
Our Farmer Network
Our Farmer Network is made up of small and heritage Black farmers in the Southeastern United States who practice ecologically sustainable production methods. The farmers in our network are thinking beyond their work of growing food, and are incorporating innovative programs that speak to the broad – based and integrated needs of their communities. We have a legacy of successful Black farmers.
"[Black farmers] work in a way we’ve forgotten. Their faith is so strong - and I don’t mean religious faith. They put a seed in a piece of dirt and have faith it’s gonna grow and pay the bills. I look at them and say, ‘You’re amazing.’"
“If I am my ancestors’ dream, then what would they say about how I am moving in the world today?”
Where We Work
SAAFON’ s work covers the southeastern United States – Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Louisiana and the US Virgin Islands.