We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy

This co-presentation between CAAM and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) explores the new anthology We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy, a collection of essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories that examine Black people’s connection to the American land from Emancipation to today.

In the 1920s, there were over one million Black farmers; today there are just 45,000. Author Natalie Baszile examines this crisis through the farmers’ personal experiences. In their own words, middle-aged and elderly Black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss. The “Returning Generation”—young farmers building upon the legacy of their ancestors—discusses the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations. Baszile talks with farmer and activist Karen Washington, with an introduction by CAAM History Curator Susan D. Anderson.