(grow)

I don’t think what I am about to say is controversial, but here we go:

The Black community needs to regain a vested interest in self-sustainability. Americans overall do, but Black people have lost our edge in agriculture and animal husbandry. It wasn’t pretty or easy, but we did self-sufficiency in a way that shaped American culture for everyone. Pretty okay.

Not like, “get your workplace to buy compostable cups” sustainable, I mean like “start your own business that uses ceramic and donates compostable cups to schools”. Maybe even “I could live in the woods for 3 years without grocery stores”.

But obviously nothing is quite that easy. As my family has grown, we haven’t ever had more than 2 bedrooms.

We know small living, we know bad credit from student loans the government bought, we know watching the perfect house pass by.

So, what does one do?

Self-reliance was not a choice for anyone for the vast majority of history—our current complacent lifestyle is a joke of a blip on the timeline of humanity.

So, we try and absorb what kept us going as a people. The techniques, the inventive spirit, the desire to go ahead and try and learn it for ourselves.

Growing food. Maintaining land naturally. Animal husbandry. Indigenous and ancestral medicines. Cooking and household management.

Not all can be applied now, but some can. More and more I trust that when the time comes I will be far more prepared than I expected, and learning the new stuff will be less stressful.

Is there any one hands-on task you do to connect with your past? Comment below.