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An exert from: The Quest for Racial Equality Has Always Been Different for Rural Americans "Eighty-three-year-old Corine Woodson is poised to suffer a devastating blow: the loss of the home she shared with her late husband—who died in 2022—for over 60 years. Her land, 40 acres set amid rolling pines outside of Auburn, Ala., was purchased in 1911 and passed down through generations, a rare example of Black land ownership in the Deep South. But in recent years, this once rural property, now parsed out among various family members in a form of ownership known as “tenants in common,” has caught the attention of investors who hope to purchase and develop properties they consider prime real estate. Cleveland Brothers Incorporated bought out Woodson’s relatives, accumulating 49% ownership of the previously Black-owned property. Now, the case is making news as it heads toward the Alabama Supreme Court, with the company declaring that it will suffer “financial harm” if Woodson delays the sale of her share. (A representative of Cleveland Brothers told WTVM that Woodson could stay on the property for a year even if the sale goes through.)" Read more....

https://ctmirror.org/2024/12/20/ct-offshore-wind-solar-projects/

EggUcation Series: Cultivating BIPOC Farmers I just supported EggUcation Series: Cultivating BIPOC Farmers, an awesome project on Patronicity. It's a crowdfunding campaign, so they need lots of small contributions from donors, or 'Patrons' like you and me to make it happen.   You can read more about how this works at https://www.patronicity.com/how-it-works   Please visit the project here, read more about it, choose a giving level, and share with others as well! https://www.patronicity.com/project/eggucation_series_cultivating_bipoc_farmers

Meet Ups at Farms: Date: Sunday, September 8th Time: 10am-2pm Location: Gunther Farm, 24 Hyde Rd. Vernon, CT Date: Sunday, September 15th Time: 10am-3pm Location: Off Center Farm, 48 Center Rd. Woodbridge, CT and Beets and Blooms Farm, 6 Oakum Dock Rd, Cobalt, CT Description of Skill Share: For folks that are still looking for land, whether to lease or purchase. Learn how to evaluate potential properties for agricultural use. Explore three different properties with Solid Ground soil, conservation, and land use consultant Kip Kolesinskas. We will evaluate the major soil properties to consider for different types of agriculture, evaluate the location and condition of existing infrastructure, including potential water sources, impact of wetlands, neighbors and wildlife, land restoration, topography, and local microclimates. Learn how to use the Web Soil Survey and other Connecticut and municipal maps as tools in the process, and where to find information on a property’s history, town zoning ag restrictions, setbacks, and more.   Sign up here: s.uconn.edu/landeval&access

Did you know that unless you have an acre or more of land in Middletown, it's nearly impossible to be in compliance with Middletown's current chicken keeping rules? One of our members is facing $100/day fine because her coop is less than 25 feet from her neighbor's property line. Because of the size of her backyard, regardless of where she moves the coop--it would still be violating this ordinance. Chicken keeping policies are different in nearly every city/town in the state but are mostly focused on the size of property and not on the things chickens actually need to be healthy. We know that urban communities, communities with higher numbers of BILPOC residents, lower-income communities are less likely to be able to meet chicken keeping requirements across the state. Our members drafted a new set of rules for Middletown that would focus on the space the chickens need, and not on the space between properties. People have a right to be self-sufficient without the fear of a $100/day fine. Sign on to this petition and tell the City of Middletown to give us all a real Right to Farm! katal.info/MtownChickens

President Joe Biden and the White House are touting the payments to over 43,000 people as part of an effort to address inequity in farm loan programs, which data obtained in a CNN Freedom of Information Act request reveal has persisted for Black farmers especially. By Chandelis Duster and Janie Boschma, CNN.com https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/politics/black-farmers-discrimination-program-biden-chevron-dg

Diversifying wildland fire through advocacy, sponsorship and leading by example Danielle Knight Southern Region, Office of Communication March 18, 2024

https://www.agrariacenter.org/blog/2022/1/13/je2zic0x0dotnw1tpjbdtg7pd8hn5s-r3rkc Fannie Lou Hamer's America | Full Film | America ReFramed America ReFramed brings to life compelling stories, personal voices and experiences that illuminate the contours of our ever-changing country. Since 2012, the anthology series has premiered 170 films from more than 370 filmmakers - more than half were helmed by female filmmakers and a third are credited to BIPOC filmmakers. The series has centered the stories of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, veterans, seniors, immigrants and people from a myriad of backgrounds. Major funding for America ReFramed provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by Open Society Foundations, Acton Family Giving, Park Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Reva & David Logan Foundation. WORLD shares the best of public media in news, documentaries and programming. WORLD’s original series examine the issues and amplify the voices of those often ignored by mainstream media. The multicast 24/7 channel helps audiences understand conflicts, movements and cultures from around the globe. Its original work has won a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award, two Webby Awards, and many others honoring diversity of content and makers. WORLD is carried by 195 member stations in markets representing over 75.1% of US TV households. Funding for WORLD Channel is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts and Artworks. WORLD is produced by GBH in partnership with WNET and is distributed by American Public Television (APT).