Statement in Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Uprisings:
Tishrei 2020/5781
This summer, we heard the blast of the shofar loud and clear. The murders of George Floyd and too many others catalyzed a global uprising that we, as American Jews at Abundance Farm, were called to respond to, be changed by, and take action alongside. While the lessons from this summer were in no way new calls to action, the global attention on the Black Lives Matter movement showed what is possible when we collectively cry out against injustice.
In responding to this call to end anti-Black racism, we are beginning a teshuvah process at Abundance Farm. Teshuvah is a tool our faith gives us for repentance and repair, and it has three parts: first, an apology without expectation; second, a plan for how to proceed differently; and third, encountering the same situation again and proceeding differently. This statement is our attempt at these first two parts of teshuvah.
As an organization entering its 7th year, we have fallen short on addressing anti-Black racism in our work on food justice. We are a land-based Jewish organization that farms on land stolen from the Pocumtuk and Nipmuc people, and in an economy built from the stolen labor of enslaved people. Reconciling with this history means asking ourselves difficult questions: What is the history of colonization and anti-Black racism that have converged to make our relationship to this land possible? What does it mean to be American Jews cultivating a relationship to this particular piece of land? What do we need to face to truly abolish white supremacy from our food system? Our tradition compels us to wrestle with these questions, and it should not take one more outrageous murder to turn our attention there. We regret the ways we have failed to ask these hard questions of ourselves and the impact that has on the work we do.
Here is our plan for addressing anti-Black racism going forward. This plan is informed by the work of Leah Penniman and Soul Fire Farm, whose comprehensive action steps and policy platforms can be found here. We know our plan is not complete and that ending anti-Black racism is a lifelong commitment. We are sharing this publicly as a way of staying accountable to our community and this work. We will share a report-back, in all of the same avenues that we are sharing this statement, six months from this Jewish New Year 5781, which will be Rosh Chodesh Nisan 5781/March 14th, 2021.
Abundance Farm will form a working group with Congregation B’nai Israel’s Tikkun Olam (Social Justice) Committee that will continue our learning about reparations, with the goal of creating a proposal for making reparations as an organization.
Abundance Farm will commit to a strategy of de-escalation and call on the police as a last resort.
Abundance Farm will install a permanent tzedakah box where visitors can donate to local Black and Indigenous-led organizations doing land-based work.
As we enter 5781, we will push to create organizational change so that we respond to anti-Black racism differently going forward. We know that doing so puts us in deeper alignment with our community, our tradition, and the land, and this is the gift that teshuvah ultimately offers. We want to hear from our community about this statement.
Shana tova to us all! May we all be sealed for a year of health, safety, and deep transformation.