Needham Community Farm is extremely upset and deeply saddened by the recent brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other people of color. Their unnecessary deaths highlight the deep, historical structural inequities and systematic racism in our country leading to where we are today.

 

We stand in full solidarity with all who are fighting for a more equitable and just society. As an organization, we are committed to listening carefully to those affected, confronting our own biases, teaching our friends and family how to understand and accept the true impact of racism, and taking action that speaks to each of us as individuals and as a farm community. We need to allow ourselves to be necessarily uncomfortable as we all work to understand both our role in perpetuating inequality and how we can, as allies, end racial and economic inequalities. 

 

Our farm continues to work to address the consequences of structural inequality as it results in food insecurity in MetroWest. We know we are only playing a small part, but we want to do more to assist all people. In general, the agricultural system in America is troubled and exploitive of both resources and people, especially people of color. Further, racism is rarely identified as the cause of inordinately high rates of hunger, food insecurity, pesticide poisoning, and diet-related disease among people of color.

 

The Farm intends to consider specific actions to advance the goals of racial justice and social equality. We invite you to join us in the Farm’s commitment to advance our nation’s understanding of systemic racism and economic inequities through listening, self reflection and taking action in order to, paraphrasing the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice. Please reach out to us to share concerns, resources, ideas and thoughts about how we individually and collectively can take such actions.