7:30 AM
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Networking Breakfast
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8:15 AM Concurrent Workshops
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Session 1: Rural Development Leadership Network - Multicultural Voices from the Land – Strategies for Acquiring, Retaining, Co-Owning, Nurturing & Prospering from the land. A conversation with Moises Loza (Affordable Housing), John Zippert (Cooperatives), Anita LaRan (Land Grants, Holistic Farming), Dorothy Grady-Scarbrough (Food, Health, Schools), Nkwanda Jah (NAACP Environment), Twila Martin-Kekahbah (Chippewa/American Indian History), Marie Cirillo (Appalachian Land Trust, Forests, Water), Lillie Webb (Farm as Buisness). Heritage, Struggle, Resources.
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Session 2: Urban Gardens - The role of urban gardening and farming is often overlooked or undervalued; it's thought of as a hobby or past-time, without the capacity to produce high yields -rarely considered for what all it produces. We want to look at the role urban gardens and farms have within our communities while we think through imaginative ways that urban gardens and farms can be a bridge between young Black people and aging Black farmers. Imagine: can urban gardens serve as a gateway into larger scale farming? Can we create land link programs that allow for folks to receive training and mentorship, while aiding Black farmers? Can our urban gardens and farms be hubs for revitalized markets for Black farmers? We will share the work and vision of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance and the role urban gardens play.
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9:30 AM Concurrent Workshops
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Session 1: Census 2020 - The 2020 Census steers trillions of dollars for critical services like healthcare and education to each state, provides data for redistricting everything from political seats to school zones, and informs businesses and community planners about opportunities for growth and economic development. This workshop is a discussion about the potential impacts of the 2020 Census.
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Session 2: Right to the City/Homes for All - Movements for deep, permanent affordability and community control must be rooted in racial justice, a right to housing, and economic cooperation. This opening session will bring together organizations with diverse experience working toward community control and deep affordability to provide an overview of key movements, including shared-equity housing, community land trusts, tenant organizing, social housing, and more.
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10:45 AM Concurrent Workshops
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Session 1: Project South - Project South is a Southern-based leadership development organization that creates space for movement building. We have been working with communities pushed forward by struggle for over 30 years - to strengthen leadership and to provide popular political and economic education for personal and social transformation.
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Session 2: National Black Food and Justice Alliance - In the Black community, land has been a mobilizing force, a site of healing and resistance and a proud symbol of our resilience and connection to the earth. Land, whether urban or rural, has served as the basis for community wealth-building and alternative political visions--despite Black freedom dreams being assaulted and denied. 1) Since 1910, over 90% of Black owned land has been seized or lost. 2) The average age of Black farmers is 60 years old. Many farmers and land owners do not have a plan for who will succeed them. 3) Gentrification continues to dispossess and displace Black people, leaving fewer and fewer opportunities to build healthy communities. This workshop will explore the history and utility of land, as an organizing principle, from maroons to the legacy of freedom farmers. Drawing connections and lessons from this rich tradition, we will share the vision and strategy of a developing land initiative -- Black Land and Power, including Northeast Farmers of Color, work that is made possible because of the incredible legacy and lessons via New Communities. Featured speakers: Savi Horne, Randolph Carr, Dara Cooper, Leah Penniman and Jenga Mwendo of National Black Food and Justice Alliance, Black Land and Power
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12:00-6:00 PM
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CULTURAL FESTIVAL
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