Something unexpected just appeared in Cal Anderson park, and it's growing larger by the day.
Marcus was the first to start gardening in the park, though he was quickly joined by friends and strangers. This isn’t the work of a casual amateur; Henderson has an Energy Resources Engineering degree from Stanford University, a Master’s degree in Sustainability in the Urban Environment, and years of experience working in sustainable agriculture. For Marcus, this was a perfect opportunity to put his experience to work for a cause.
“We’re dealing with a question of how Black people have been disenfranchised for so long, pulled out of the economic system,” he says. “One way of doing that is not giving people access to land.”
Going all the way back to emancipation, he points out, farming has been an important way for Black people to gain autonomy and self-sufficiency. But Black land ownership, particularly in the farming sector, has dropped precipitously over the last century; in the 1920s, America had nearly a million Black-owned farms. By the 1970s, it was down to less than 50,000.
The gardens in Cal Anderson park were crafted quickly, but with expertise. A layer of cardboard smothers grass, which isn’t a particularly healthy crop for the environment; and diverse seedlings donated by neighbors are placed into holes in the cardboard that allow them to take root underground. Now if only we could do the same to all the golf courses.
Nobody expects the little Cal Anderson plots to be a sustainable source of food for all of the protesters. But they’re a demonstration of how land can be put to better use — and of the importance of land ownership for Black Americans. That idea has motivated much of Marcus’ work; when he began his career, he was engaged with policy and planning. But he soon saw that if he wanted to make real change he’d have to get his hands dirty.
His planning background is evident when you watch him work. During our conversation, volunteers continuously interrupted to ask him questions: Someone just brought compost, where should it go? Marcus supplied instructions for containing it in tarps. A woman arrived and explained that she’s been out of work for weeks and wanted to volunteer in her neighborhood, where is she needed? He pointed her toward some watering cans. A bystander asked about creating green corridors throughout the city for pollinators; for the moment, that’s beyond the scope of this installation.
Burnout is real shit and socialism isn’t a personality trait.
What are some things that you all are doing that aren’t directly movement-related? I’m going to read the Silmarillion and then sharpen all the knives in the kitchen.
Rediscovering my love for Rick Riordan by binge reading his entire bibliography. Just..all of it. Listening to TAZ: Amnesty while i drink tea and eat chicken soup. Taking naps with my cats til the nasty cold i caught kicks the bucket. Trying to telepathically send all my love and support to @emma-d-klutz ;3c
I love to draw and sing. I go out with friends, I play with my boyfriend’s two pit bulls who are the sweetest damn things on this earth, I collect vintage posters and male pin ups. Plus I am reading the entire bibliography of Maxim Gorky and I am also learning Hebrew and Russian.
I normally like to draw but I stop since 2012 my motivation went down hill but recently I’m starting to pick it up again and I’m also learning how to see and knit and crochet very happy for Myself
If there's a revolution coming I would like to say that we can't let the world burn, we must take our lives into our own hands and cooperate with one another to build a better future and a better society that doesn't hate, but embraces working for the sake of doing what you love, not for a wage. I believe this is possible and I believe it will start with reclaimed wood and metal, recycled plastic, and renewable energy. A revolution doesn't have to be violent, it has has to displace power and social hierarchy.
That's why I believe in a green, non-competitive future without class, ethnicity, or sex divide. True unity is achieved not through authority, but freedom of choice.
America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, ‘It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.’ It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: ‘if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?’ There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register.
Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.
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