Connections: Reclaiming Crops, Preserving Land, Serving Communities
January 13, 2021
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
In fall 2017, Jennifer Thompson, Victor-Alan Weeks and four other 皇家华人 students traveled to Sapelo Island, Georgia, to help residents clear up Hurricane Irma debris at one of the island鈥檚 historic churches.
Sapelo, a barrier island seven miles offshore, can only be reached by aircraft or boat. The state of Georgia owns 97 percent of it, including a state park and the once-mansion of North Carolina tobacco heir Richard J. Reynolds Jr., the island鈥檚 former owner. The 皇家华人 students hopped on a ferry to the other three percent, specifically to Hog Hammock, the last known Gullah community where descendants of enslaved West African people known as Gullah Geechees live.
During the 15-minute ferry ride, they met librarian, family historian and author Michele Nicole Johnson, who鈥檇 married into one of Sapelo鈥檚 original African-American families. She told them her ancestors had been enslaved in the 皇家华人 area. During her family research, she found a slaveholder鈥檚 will ordering the sale of two enslaved boys. The sale was to cover his heir鈥檚 tuition at 皇家华人.
It鈥檚 a chilling reminder of the horror of slavery, and 皇家华人鈥檚 connection鈥攁nd, often, complicity鈥攊n an institution that much of the United States is founded upon. Thompson 鈥20 and Weeks 鈥19 say that chance encounter made them even more determined to support Sapelo residents鈥 efforts to preserve their heritage, and ensure 皇家华人 acknowledged such painful truths about its own history.
The two Atlanta natives returned in 2018, working through the summer with the Hog Hammock community. They weeded, planted and built garden beds and fences to help the community鈥檚 aging members, whose groceries and supplies must be retrieved from the mainland or the one small store on the island.
They鈥檝e continued to go back, centering their work around agricultural autonomy and land and cultural preservation. Thompson and Weeks say it鈥檚 important to connect what they learned in the classroom to what the community is fighting to preserve.
Sapelo Island is one of many social justice initiatives students and professors have taken on, and grown.
In fall 2019, Takiyah Harper-Shipman, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, became the faculty advisor for the Sapelo Island community service project. That same year, she hosted a panel for a discussion on Race and Farming in the South. And in spring 2020, she started a Farming While Black Reading and Service Collective that included working with several farmers in the Charlotte area. Harper-Shipman volunteers at one of the farms.
In another project, students in her Africana Capstone course collaborated with the residents of Smithville, a historically Black community in Cornelius, to preserve the history of the community as they attempt to stave off gentrification.
There鈥檚 a balance between collaboration and overstepping boundaries, she says.
鈥淵ou have to listen to what the community needs; you can鈥檛 just jump in and say 鈥榟ere鈥檚 what you need to do,鈥欌 Harper-Shipman says.
鈥淎ny time you can cultivate fruitful relationships, that are meaningful,鈥 she says, 鈥渢hose are the seeds you plant that can eventually turn into structural change.鈥
Food Sovereignty
Thompson and Weeks are on a quest for environmental and food justice.
They want to serve Hog Hammock (also known as Hogg Hummock) by reclaiming the crops to provide local, healthy harvests that can be sold to boost their economy. As the island鈥檚 population has either aged, died, or relocated, there isn鈥檛 enough human or financial capital capable of keeping up with the demands of rural agriculture.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e done such a great job, they have spent so many long days out there in the heat, these are things so many of our older people couldn鈥檛 do without help,鈥 says Maurice Bailey, 51, a Hog Hammock native and community leader. 鈥淛ust the students being there is a breath of fresh air鈥攚ith their energy and commitment鈥攑eople are so happy to see them, it鈥檚 like 鈥極h the young people are here.鈥欌
Sapelo Island is known for its red peas. They鈥檝e recently planted sour orange trees and are also experimenting with indigo plants, which will be processed into dye and sold for custom fabric, Bailey says.
Bailey, Thompson and Weeks recognize outside development pressures are an ongoing and looming threat to Hog Hammock balance and serenity. They have helped raise awareness about it, appearing on an NPR show together to speak out against a proposed Georgia bill that would ease development regulations on the island.
As Hog Hammock residents have died, some families have sold their property to wealthier outsiders who鈥檝e built large vacation homes. Those trying to preserve the land worry that the community will become another Hilton Head, filled with hotels, vacation homes and rising property taxes.
鈥淭his is more than just gardening, it鈥檚 about food sovereignty, and land sovereignty,鈥 Weeks says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about uplifting a community.鈥
Strength in Community
Thompson says the early days at Sapelo were a cultural jolt, starting with the long car ride, then the ferry, and another drive. There鈥檚 only one store, owned by Bailey. Thompson says the lack of food options, especially fresh produce, further encouraged her to get involved on a deeper, more meaningful level.
鈥淵ou have to examine your own privilege,鈥 Thompson says. 鈥溁始一 students have access to a lot, and it can be a shock when you enter a space where people do not. You have to take a step back, and learn from the environment you鈥檝e been invited into.鈥
Thompson and Weeks say they were initially met with skepticism from residents who wondered about their motives and questioned their commitment.
鈥淚 think in the beginning Maurice didn鈥檛 really believe we were there to work,鈥 Weeks says. 鈥淲hen we put the action to the words, he realized we were serious and passionate about the cause.鈥
Farming鈥檚 tough, and things didn鈥檛 go according to the timeline they鈥檇 set. Both Thompson and Weeks says they had to readjust their expectations along the way.
鈥淭hrough my frustration, I learned patience, patience, patience,鈥 Thompson says. 鈥淧atience with the project, patience with life, and patience with the land.鈥
Weeks now lives in Savannah and is studying to receive his certificate in Agribusiness. He plans to own a farm someday. Thompson doesn鈥檛 see a farming future, but plans to always have a food garden.
Weeks says the work on Sapelo Island reinforced and brought to life his college studies about the Transatlantic slave trade.
鈥淎s much as I want the outcome, it鈥檚 all about the will of nature and the will of the land,鈥 Weeks says. 鈥淭here are so few places like this in the world, we need to conserve it, and recognize that this land was cultivated from the enslavement of people. We need to remember this so we can learn, and not repeat the mistakes of history.鈥
This article was originally published in the Fall/Winter 2020 print issue of the 皇家华人 Journal Magazine; for more, please see the 皇家华人 Journal section of our website.
