Oregon's extensive history of family-owned farms is changing.

Corporations bought more farmland than any other buyer in recent years, according to a 2019 Portland State University study on changes in farmland ownership. The trend could have implications for regional food systems, the environment, rural communities and farmers.

However, the food system, which includes the production, distribution and consumption of food, is already inaccessible to some.

In Oregon, Black, Native American and Hispanic people are the most food-insecure populations, according to Multnomah County's data on hunger. As the trend of corporate acquisition of farmland increases, advocates work to stabilize marginalized communities’ local food systems, starting by placing more of an emphasis on who is growing and producing food in Oregon and, more importantly, who it's for.

Founded in 2019 by Mirabai Collins and Malcolm Hoover, Black Futures Farm is attempting to reduce gaps in the food system by working with Black people, Indigenous people and other people of color to bring greater access to fresh food to Black people in Portland.

Black Futures Farm is a program of the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition, an organization that similarly seeks to empower Black communities to participate as owners and leaders within food systems and address other systemic issues.

Nia Harris, Black Futures Farm community programs and outreach coordinator, said it's important for Black people to be at the forefront of change regarding stabilizing food systems.

"We consider ourselves to be part of the local and the regional food system that is led by the people whose lands these are and who have deep ties to these lands," Harris said.

Located in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood in Southeast Portland, Black Futures Farm is on 1.5 acres of land and grows different fruits, vegetables, flowers and more — all cultivated by Black farmers and volunteers for Black communities in Portland. Community is never lost in their work.

"I think having that community perspective and being on the ground with folks allows us to make that as intentional and purposeful and actually reflective of what's happening in real-time and not feeling disempowered by it, but actually encouraged and propelled into action," Harris said.

Why Black representation matters in food systems and farmland ownership

Only 74 of the 68,564 total Oregon farmers identify as Black or African American, according to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture. For Harris, not having as many Black farmers represented in the Portland Metro Area reflects how resources are unevenly distributed to Black people in Portland.

"Black farmers in Oregon continue to face discrimination in accessing land and financial and technical assistance, which directly correlates to the lack of access Black communities have to fresh and nutritious foods," Harris said.

Unequal access to land for Black Oregonians is symptomatic of Oregon’s racist history. In 1844, the Provisional Government of Oregon passed its first Black exclusion law, the beginning of a series of anti-Black laws meant to deter Black people from living in Oregon.

"Black farmers in Oregon continue to face discrimination in accessing land and financial and technical assistance, which directly correlates to the lack of access Black communities have to fresh and nutritious foods"
— Nia Harris, Black Futures Farm programs and outreach coordinator

While it reaffirmed previous anti-slavery provisions, it prohibited Black Americans from living in the state, or they would face physical punishments every six months until they left. Those who chose to stay were forced to work on public works projects but were ultimately forced to leave.

While the exclusionary laws of the 1840s and '50s were eventually repealed, their intent — to create a majority white state — made it nearly impossible for Black people to own land.

Zachary Stocks, historian and Oregon Black Pioneers executive director, said exclusionary laws had a significant impact on Black Oregonians’ ability to build collective wealth, which has affected the landscape of Black farmland ownership today.

"In a place like Oregon, where we don't have a very large Black population, we're already at a disadvantage in our ability to build collective wealth with the Black community because we don't have that same access to land which we can then pass on to future generations," Stocks said. "So much of our wealth in this country is tied to land ownership, the ability for people to build generational wealth comes from the transfer of real assets, like properties and homes, from one generation to the next."

Based on her experience, Harris believes this is also a barrier for Black farmers in Oregon.

"The biggest thing is money," Harris said. "It's really that simple … Primarily, the difficulty is land access and having the funds to take care of yourself and run a successful production."

Food sovereignty in the food system

The process doesn't stop at just obtaining and cultivating land for Black people. Creating a place within the food system involves having sovereignty outside of that system, as well, according to Harris. In imagining what this could look like, another question arises: Whose land is it to claim to begin with?

"I think one thing that I'm personally grappling with in thinking about sovereignty here in this land is that it must always, always most importantly, center the Indigenous peoples of the land," Harris said. "Sovereignty means you know that ultimate freedom or liberation in a way that we have control and agency and autonomy.

"Not control in a colonial sense, but taught in a way of respect and right and knowing who we are, what we're here for, a purpose of virtue. You know, that's probably not a definition of food sovereignty you'll find on the internet, but that's the way that I see it and understand it. And those are some of the values that we share at Black Futures Farm."

Restoring the connection between land and Black people

While Black Futures Farm is a community farm, its work and advocacy extends beyond agricultural production. A key aspect of its work is restoring the connection between land and Black people — a relationship that can be fraught or strained, according to Joy Alise Davis, Imagine Black president and executive director. Imagine Black is an abolitionist organization that previously worked with Black Futures Farm.

Davis said healing that connection to the land is critical when exploring how environmental and racial justice intersect.

"Our initial plan was to create an environmental justice plan, but what we found was that many of us needed to heal our connections to the land," Davis said. "I think about my grandfather. He passed away now, but he was a sharecropper … the trauma associated with stewarding the land has a really big impact."

Davis said healing the connection between land and Black people may not be a regenerative experience for all Black people, especially for those who are descendants of enslaved Black people.

Harris similarly acknowledges how healing can look different for everyone but hopes that having a space like Black Futures Farm can allow for a variety of expressions and feelings.

"We would hope to hold a space for healing so that healing may happen," Harris said. "Knowing that may not look like complete rest or bliss or joy, that actually might look like anger and frustration and sadness. We welcome all of that, and we welcome all parts of people."

What is the future of Black farming?

Environmental justice, food justice and food sovereignty may appear separate from the regenerative healing work and racial justice advocacy Black Futures Farm does, but they aren't. According to Harris, they are all interconnected.

"That's all a part of the Afro-Ecology framework," Harris said. "That's essentially what it is, what it looks like in practice of being able to figure out ways to sustain the work that it is that allows you to tap into other things. We don't just have to farm. We can, but we're also doing other things. You can separate it, but it will never be separated. It always comes back full circle."

Black Futures Farm believes to ensure its work continues, its knowledge is passed along to future generations, and the change it hopes to inspire becomes a reality, the future of Black farming is in the youth.

"It is the young people that are creating these things and have to be involved in the knowledge, production and in the learning process — and in the entire thing — in order to continue this movement's work," Harris said. "We're living for the now, and also, we know that we're creating stepping stones for what's next."

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