Structural racism has shaped America’s agricultural landscape. 14% of all farm owner-operators were Black Americans in 1910. By 2012, 1.5%. From 2012 to 2014, white Americans generated 98% of all farm related income from land ownership. Pamela Booker is connecting the community with local black and brown urban farmers and amplifying conversations about urban ecosystems. When she made the move from Brooklyn, New York to Newark, New Jersey, she had a vision to be a contribution as an urban grower and with liberation storytelling. The 2008 documentary film The Garden, presented Booker with the question she is answering every day: where’s your tree?
Where’s Your Tree is an artist-initiated eco-project that focuses on racial and social equity, justice, health and wellness. Booker deeply understands how important it is to document the experiences of black and brown knowledge with storytelling and media. Through the Where’s Your Tree podcast and eco-project initiatives, she is reimagining storytelling, urban agriculture and how we restore our relationship with the planet in partnership with community.
Listen to the Where’s Your Tree podcast here. For more information about the podcast/eco-project initiatives and community partners, visit WheresYourTree.com or PamelaBooker.com.