Join us for a screening of Farming While Black, directed by Mark Decena. Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, reflects on the plight of Black farmers in the United States. From the height of Black-owned farms at 14% in 1910 to less than 2% today. Leah and her Soul Fire Farm cohorts help propel a rising generation finding strength in the deep historical knowledge of African agrarianism - and its potential to save the planet. The screening, held in-person, will be followed by a 45 minute hybrid discussion of the film and its major takeaways. We hope to see you there!
Film Synopsis
Farming While Black is a feature-length documentary film which examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.
As the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York, Leah Penniman finds strength in the deep historical knowledge of African agrarianism – agricultural practices that can heal people and the planet. Influenced and inspired by Karen Washington, a pioneer in urban community gardens in New York City, and fellow farmer and organizer Blain Snipstal, Leah galvanizes around farming as the basis of revolutionary justice.
In 1910, Black farmers owned 14 percent of all American farmland. Over the intervening decades, that number fell below two percent, the result of racism, discrimination, and dispossession. The film chronicles Penniman and two other Black farmers’ efforts to reclaim their agricultural heritage. Collectively, their work has a major impact, as each is a leader in sustainable agriculture and food justice movements.
Main Characters
Leah Penniman
Karen Washington
Blain Snipstal
Naima Penniman
Jonah Vitale-Wolf
Cornelius Blanding
Mark Decena is a writer, director, and producer of award-winning feature films, television programming, web and brand films. He is a three time Sundance alumni whose work spans from narrative features to documentaries and shorts. Mark’s first feature, Dopamine, won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize in 2003 at Sundance, and since then Decena has built a body of documentary work that spans themes of social justice, sustainable design, and the environment. His previous work includes the Redford Center film, Watershed, executive produced and narrated by Robert Redford; the Gates funded Stand Up Planet, using stand up comedy to look at serious global development issues; and Not Without Us, following grassroots activists to the UN climate talks in Paris. Decena’s latest film, Farming While Black, premiered at the 2023 Mill Valley Film Festival as part of the Active Cinema Program. In addition, Mark is the founder of Kontent Films, a boutique production company based in San Francisco, housing a Kollective of award winning filmmakers, producers and creatives.
