HISTORY AND URBAN FARMING

Today is October 7^th. It is our second day in Memphis, which is exciting. Yesterday was kind of hard. We were on the plane for so long and then on top of everything I think that we were all exhausted. It was so uncomfortable being in an entirely different space away from our families. We started the day at breakfast with this guy named Pete. He works at a local University and came to talk to us about the economic gaps in the neighborhood. In my Black Lit class as well as Diversity Action Group we have been constantly talking about the weight that polarization as well as fear of communication has in our society today. Pete brought up some similar points. He talked about the idea that society has put in place a system that represses people of color, a system in which it feels nearly impossible to break. A key takeaway that I had was that systematic oppression is used to create fear within all communities. People of color as well as white people have this fear; of change, of being different, of causing disruption. Regis is a microcosm of this. As students we reflect on what we see in society. If adults are unable to educate themselves or have important/uncomfortable conversations, then why do we expect the generation of tomorrow to? Additionally, we went to the Pink Palace Museum today. It was so cool, and I want to go back. We went to the “Overcoming Hateful Things” exhibit, which mainly focused on the impact of Jim Crow in America and how it may be formally “abolished” but there are still remnants that impact black communities. One quote that was on the reflection wall that I wrote down was “People make choices, choices make history”. As a society if we actively choose to avoid uncomfortable conversations to maintain our false identities, we will sacrifice the future. If there is no change then we will continually repeat the past.

On our second day in Memphis, I woke up excited for the first full day of activities that we had ahead of us. We started our day eating at Café Eclectic where we talked with a professor in Memphis about how the power structures in the city keep many families and humble workers oppressed. As we had our conversation the professor recalled the story of Jesus who needed to feed 5,000 men, and instead of turning the people away he finds a boy with five loaves and two fish who is gracious enough to give it away, Jesus then multiplies this food to be more than enough for the 5,000 people. The professor told this story to show that there is no “us” vs “them”, because there is more abundance when we all come together. We often have more than we think. We learn from Jesus in this story that when we share there will always be enough.

After breakfast we went to a museum to see the Overcoming Hateful Things exhibit. Through seeing the history of the Jim Crow era and laws, I was very impacted by what I saw, knowing that many people had to go through pain, racism, embarrassment, and hardship of that era just because of the time that they were born into.  Though the exhibits alone were impacting, bringing me back to that era. I realized that rather than pondering over the past, I should focus on what we will do with knowing the history of America?

Like Theo did at our last stop for the day. Where we went to an urban farm and met a farmer named Theo. He understands the complicated history of Memphis and explains to us the history of the neighborhood, knowing that the community he serves lives below the poverty line while also living in a food desert. Theo realizes that change comes when first understanding the impact of history on that area, then do our parts to make our communities greater.

Overall, today was an amazing day. I loved seeing the neighborhoods and greenery in this city, and I can’t wait to have four more beautiful days here.

This morning, I woke up not knowing what the day had in store, but I was looking forward to it. The first thing we did was go to a Café where we talked with one another while we waited for a professor who was running late. He explained that he was running late because he was dropping off his 10-year-old daughter that he adopted as soon as she was a few months old. He told us the story of how he and his wife adopted Neveah, whose biological mother was forced to give birth handcuffed. The cruelty of the story wasn’t new for the city and its residents as it’s been struck by systemic racism, and he went on to explain how systemic racism continues to manifest itself today. For example, certain cities, such as Memphis, have had their funding disproportionately dispersed, typically in neighborhoods of historically disadvantaged groups. A more specific example is public transportation in Memphis, which is not well- structured nor accessible. Many people who rely on transportation risk much more than a simple inconvenience (e.g. workers who risk getting fired for not reporting to work on time). It was a difficult conversation to have, especially because the topic is so broad, which is why going to the Jim Crow/Pink Castle Museum this afternoon put a lot more into perspective. From the stereotypical black characters featured in 1950s entertainment such as “Mammy” and “Tom” to a book from the Jim Crow era titled Ten Little N**** Boys that paralleled the classic Ten Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed) but with brutal mutilations rather than silly falls. Thankfully, the day wasn’t all grim. My group and I went over to one of only two USDA certified farms in this city (the entire city of Memphis is classified as a food desert). Knowing that our group’s service will help Theo, the main farmer, and the city’s residents provided me more of a reason to truly show up. Although our contributions were not tremendous, they were meaningful. And later tonight, we ate a filling (SNAP budget priced) dinner specially made by a few students in our group, and we shared our hopes for the weeks and what we’re grateful for.