Detroit’s 1,000+ urban gardens trace their food-commons roots to African and slave agricultural traditions

Evidence

Probably the most organized way that Detroit residents are responding to the neglect and abandonment they’ve experienced is by addressing the lack of nutritious, culturally relevant food by growing gardens, raising chickens, and keeping bees. A local system of urban agriculture is devel - oping across the city that is turning the empty lots into raised beds and community gardens. At the time of this writing, over 1,000 gardens have been created, supported by neighborhood folks with a network of nonprofit community organizations whose purpose is to help teach about and provide resources for the cultivation, harvest, preparation and preservation of food. These activities form the basis of an ancient food commons that, for Detroit and other urban areas across the United States, has its roots in southern slave culture, plantation life, and reconstruction agricultural practices, as well as African farming traditions. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1482

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the polyad course thread on land/place by showing a Black food commons continuous from African farming through slavery to present urban gardens. — connects to: The commons concept names shared practices protecting seeds, water, forests, and soil worldwide. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1359; Planters’ integration practices inadvertently sustained African communities and homeland ties among slaves; Forced collective cotton cultivation in Upper Volta displaced Africans’ own food crops — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 809
• ADDENDUM: Converses directly with the ‘Grafting & Growth’ trees piece — both document living commons infrastructure, here raised beds rather than bridges.

Broader Connections

• Planters’ integration practices inadvertently sustained African communities and homeland ties among slaves #expands (0.82)
• Forced collective cotton cultivation in Upper Volta displaced Africans’ own food crops #complicates (0.72) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 809