I found it jarring that black people woud be arrested and forced into doing even more unpaid labor as punishment. People were attached to slavery even after it was supposed to end, they relied on it, despite it being completely inhumane. As long as they were meeting their quotas and making money, their workers didn’t matter. There wre so many loopholes that were used during this time period so people could continue to have lots of workers for free or for a low cost.
It took a long time for black people to have the ability to own land in the U.S. and things had begun to look up at the beginning of the 1900s. However, the amount of black land owners greatly decreased throughout the century. Discrimination continued, white people were so against black farmland, ignoring the fact that black people were the backbone of the success of their farms.
Hearing Olivia Watkins' story highlighted the hardships that people who managed to keep their land had to face. Being pressured by white neighrbors to give up portions of land, attempting to discourage them from creating livelihoods out of farming. What was salvaged must be cherished. It’s important for black land owners to have someone in their family to pass it down to. The conservation of legacy has to be protected to further open doors for black people that were once closed. Instead of being pushed out, they should be welcomed and considered vital to agriculture.
Like various other articles we’ve read in this class, the importance of indigenous knowledge is brought up in this chapter. Building a relationship with the land instead of fighting against it. Olivia Watkins studies how different plants or fungi interact with the environment, and how that knowledge can be applied to revive the land. I think it’s important for this idea to be regurgitated constantly in order to keep the regenerative agriculture movement alive.
2 comments:
I agree that it is disturbing the lengths white people went to to try and protect their old ways, to the point that free peoples were still not free, even when they themselves knew they legally should be after the war. Unfortunately, these loopholes are still around today in agricultural labor work forces, construction crews, and even salons, and don't receive as much attention anymore from the media. Even the 13th Amendment that bans slavery bans slavery EXCEPT as punishment for a crime, which boosts the prison systems to exploit workers who could be serious criminals, or somebody who stole bread for their family.
This also explains why so much of the prison inmate population today is made up by black people, disproportionately so compared to how much of the general population they account for. It is unfortunately by design that the majority of inmates are black, slavery never really went anywhere, it just changed form. As Killer Mike said, "...'Cause free labor's the cornerstone of US economics. 'Cause slavery was abolished, unless you are in prison, you think I am bullshitting, then read the 13th Amendment: involuntary servitude and slavery it prohibits, that's why they givin' drug offenders time in double digits." I recommend checking out the documentary "13th", I believe it's on Netflix. It's been awhile since I've seen it, but I remember being very moved by it and it opened my eyes to a lot of injustices.
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