Food Solutions New England is offering an online 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge, in partnership with the Interaction Institute for Social Change. Participants will receive an e-mail prompt each day, with a challenge to “learn, read, talk, or take action.”
According to its website:
“We believe that we cannot talk about and work for sustainability, food security, and economic prosperity in our region without facing the realities of discrimination and social inequity in our food system and beyond.”
The program begins with a webinar on April 4th, which will orient participants to the Challenge and include testimonials from previous participants. The Challenge itself runs from April 9-29, 2017:
“[C]ommitting to three weeks of consistently exploring the impact of race in the food system provides an intentional way to uncover racial inequities and injustices, as well as to discover the many ways we can collectively promote a more just food system for all.”
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Much of what we do in the communities movement brings us face to face with issues of racial and economic justice, and working for a sustainable food system is a value that many intentional communities share. Still, the history of race and community is complicated.
We can learn from the downfall of racially-exclusive communes like Llano del Rio, and the struggles faced by African-American land trusts in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement.
Even today, some critics have raised concerns about colonization and cultural appropriation in the permaculture movement. And in Together Resilient, Ma’ikwe Ludwig explores the ways that race, class, and gender influence how we experience climate change.
Participating in the Challenge as a group can help your community engage in dialogue around racial equity, and be more intentional about the ways you partake in your local food system.
Learn more about the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge and sign up here. You can also follow along on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #FSNEEquityChallenge.
