Sustainability And The African American Farm Redirecting The Commodities Of Freedom Back To The Black Community

The main idea of this paper is that the Black owned farm is the birthplace of sustainability. African American sustainability stemmed from land ownership, food sovereignty, and independent medical care. These items were at their peak during the late 19th and early 20th centuries revealing a unique and rare time in American history and culture where the slaves who built this country were able to express a form of freedom that was produced internally. It is during this time that the commodities of freedom increased to African Americans establishing their independence and resilience. The farm in this time span became transformed into a symbol of independence, resilience, and resistance. Eventually, the sustainability produced on the Black farm was forcibly removed by a conservative white American culture in order to reverse the progress of African Americans and re-establish white dominance.