With that said, it was another magical week at the farm working with the youth. We planted marigolds, hot peppers, weeded the hoophouse, threw straw to make a pathway between beds, and sprayed each other with some cold water to cool off from the INTENSE HEAT THAT HAS BEEN SWELTERING BALTIMORE!!
This program has surely shown itself as a highly fertile ground of exposure and expansion for youth who to us claim would've probably otherwise been "asleep in their bed" if they weren't being employed to work on a farm, learn about nutrition, and go on awesome field trips every Friday :).
Which brings me to an interesting reflection recently. While we were weeding the corn field this past week, some of the teens began humming these rhythmic melodies while working hard- everyone started busting out laughing. Then, one of the girls YOUTUBEs "negro spirituals" and all of a sudden we're hearing in a rhythmic tunes "NO MORE..LORD NO MORE!" (these were the words to the song). The kids took it and ran with it. She turned it off, and they immediately went into coming up with their own words to the same melody- everyone taking turns adding their own lines to it.
I was a little conflicted in those moments. Because I wasn't really sure whether or not they were making a mockery of the old tradition of singing negro spirituals during slavery in America where Blacks sung in the fields....for various reasons; or if there was some sort of genetic memory being tapped into. I decided to take on the role of observer and not try and police the way the kids decided to express themselves in that moment, it actually turned out pretty interesting.
I spoke with my husband and his father about it later that week, and we got into a discussion about coded language and how it was being weaved into these songs that were sung by many of our Afrikan ancestors during enslavement. Messages such as plans and routes of escaping bondage, spiritually inherited knowledge being shared, and information about lost family members and zones of liberation abroad all were communicated within these songs. I think that my mind had been geared to view such songs as songs of pure sorrow and despair, and though I am not a direct descendant of the Afrikan experience in America from chattel slavery, I was very sensitive about it. This is one of the big reasons why I didn't try to intervene or direct because there could always be something there that I was missing- and many of these youth are direct descendants of this experienced lineage. What I saw those kids do, was to not mock but to reinterpret and write their own songs while they were tending to the field- maybe even connecting in a positive way to their distant African ancestors. The empowering part of that, was that it wasn't for me to decide or define. Work on many levels was being done.
I've often noticed the words "slaving" and "punishment" associated with farm labor when black folks are doing it- or many times talking about it. I noticed this intensely with the older generations (some who were even sharecroppers back in the day) when I co-founded Morgan State's Organic vegetable garden hearing people jokingly say "slavery is over" or like to organize around it but not actually do the dirty work or growing. I feel it is being dismantled slowly with all of the talk around food justice, food environments and sustainable local food as a movement, but "wealth" as a mainstream topic is rarely centered around what you produce and more so around you can show that you have- currency for buying things that other people made(Needed: A redefinition of wealth & success). The evolution is constant- I can honestly say that I'm not seeing such insensitivity to the slave culture of America and its affect on the black mind today as I did when I was growing up. Africa is becoming more meaningful in young minds, and this is powerful. But that's just from my view, and I feel like I saw that this week with the youth remixing their own spirituals- and also seeing how they GOT DOWN IN THE DIRT!
It was beautiful ya'll- these kids are EAGER to plant and grow food. In the first week, complaints about farm work (which we do in the mornings and nutrition and leadership activities we do in the afternoons) have dwindled dramatically. I mean, I think its reasonable to expect some sort of complaints of having to do hard work in the field every day (which they are compensated for financially- its an actual job for them!) but in my almost 1 year at the farm, I have never seen such a consistently engaged group.
So for tomorrow...
FOOD FIGHT. Or, Food Justice in the form of a groundbreaking and culturally inclusive video made by SOS (System out of our System) a for/non profit hybrid organization based out of Oakland, CA founded by Ashel Eldridge. visit their website: http://sosjuice.com/foodfight/
This video, which Ill be showcasing during leadership activities tomorrow touches on food deserts, biological warfare, and empowerment through educated choices.
"FOOD FIGHT FOLLOWS A KID ON A JOURNEY THROUGH HIS HOMICIDAL FOOD REALITY. THE LOCAL CORNER STORE IS KILLING HIS NEIGHBORHOOD-LITERALLY. FROM A MORPHEUS-LIKE GUIDE HE LEARNS THE REALITY BEHIND FOOD HE'S BUYING, AND MUST DECIDE: THE ORANGE CARROT PILL OR THE RED BULL PILL"
Its a lot right? Its hard sometimes being so passionate about something and to feel so much, and have to explain it in words, and be organized, and within a certain code of etiquette. And THEN having to channel it through a paradigm that is used to by default being non inclusive of a non-binary or role fitted convention. Or... maybe I'm just growing up. Sometimes I cant tell the difference, but I'm committed to "stay woke" and to share my evolution with the people, and to NOT allow myself to believe that I am crazy for seeing things in the way that I do.Also, remaining open to change as knowledge and wisdom increases within that. That can certainly mean releasing old ideas, and ways of thinking that helped get me through certain times, that I no longer need or that is requiring of more energy than it is giving or sustaining.
Remember to take care of yourselves ya'll. Don't put anything above remaining true to the calls of universal truth. In your works and in navigating politics of food, race, sex, respectability, culture, etc. Keep peace in your soul.
ONE LOVE.
Nicola "The Earthy Nutritionist" Norman
July 7, 2014
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