Black Belt Justice Center

THIS ORGANIZATION EDUCATES, EMPOWERS, AND ASSISTS BLACK FARMERS TO OBTAIN RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN SUSTAINABILITY.

OUR COALITION WAS ABLE TO SECURE $3.1B IN DEBT CANCELLATION FOR "ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED" FARMERS AND $2.2B IN CASH PAYMENTS FOR PAST DISCRIMINATION IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) OF 2022. ACCORDING TO USDA DATA, THE COMBINED DEBT OF BLACK FARMERS IS LESS THAN $210M AND THE COMBINED DEBT OF BIPOC FARMERS IS LESS THAN $1.8B. ONLY 2,416 BLACK FARMERS OF THE 22,000 SELF-IDENTIFYING BIPOC ARE BLACK (LESS THAN 8 PERCENT OF ALL BLACK FARMERS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DEBT CANCELLATION). ALL OF THE FARMERS THAT THE BLACK BELT JUSTICE CENTER REPRESENTED ON THEIR APPEAL IN THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT COURT BACK IN 2018 HAVE RECEIVED FULL DEBT CANCELLATION (RANGING FROM 200K TO $1.2M). LONG ROAD TO HUMAN RIGHTS WAS CO-SPONSORED BY THE SOUTHERN ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT PROJECT (SEAP)

ACRES OF ANCESTRY INITIATIVE/BLACK AGRARIAN FUND DEBUTED OUR PERMANENT FIBER ARTS AND AGRARIAN MATERIAL CULTURE COLLECTION AT THE CHARLESTON CITY GALLERY AT WATERFRONT PARK JANUARY 17TH, 2022 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28TH, 2022. SHOWCASING OVER 100 PIECES OF ARTWORK COMMISSIONED BY BLACK FIBER ARTISTS IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA LOWCOUNTRY, THE BLACK BELT SOUTH, AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA AT LARGE, THIS VAST ARRAY OF TEXTILE ART CONJURES THE POWER OF THE SOUTHERN BLACK RURAL IMAGINATION TO EXTEND BEYOND COLONIAL FRAMEWORKS AND (RE)CREATE REALITIES OF TRIUMPH, COOPERATIVES, AND ABUNDANCE. FEATURING AN ECOSYSTEM OF OVER 50 MASTER FIBER ARTISTS, CERAMICISTS, SWEETGRASS BASKET WEAVERS, AND BLACKSMITHS, THE GRIOTS OF COTTON, INDIGO, & CLAY PERMANENT FIBER ARTS AND AGRARIAN MATERIAL CULTURE COLLECTION AND TRAVELING EXHIBITION, EXPLORES THE INNOVATIONS OF ECOCULTURAL TECHNIQUES IN QUILTING, PRINTMAKING, INDIGO-DYEING, AND MORE, CENTERING THEMES OF BLACK AGRARIANISM, AND BROADER EXPRESSIONS OF BLACK CULTURAL RECLAMATION, INCLUDING SPIRITUALITY, MYTHOLOGY, FOLKLORE, AND ECOLOGICAL HARMONY. GRIOTS OF COTTON, INDIGO, & CLAY AT CHARLESTON CITY GALLERY AT WATERFRONT PARK WAS SPONSORED BY THE KALLIOPEIA FOUNDATION, ESTELLE COLORED GLASS, GAYLORD & DOROTHY DONNELLEY FOUNDATION, LADY FARMER, NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, AND THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SERVICE COMMITTEE.

ACRES OF ANCESTRY INITIATIVE/BLACK AGRARIAN FUND SHARED NEWLY ACQUIRED ARTWORKS AT OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE FIBER ARTS EXHIBITION, LONG ROAD TO HUMAN RIGHTS, IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA AT THE ATLANTA-FULTON CENTRAL LIBRARY (SEPTEMBER 1ST - 30TH). THE LONG ROAD TO HUMAN RIGHTS EXHIBITION ALSO INCLUDED COMMUNITY PROGRAMS THAT CENTER THE PRESSING SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES OF VOTING RIGHTS AND REPARATIVE LAND JUSTICE FOR BLACK LEGACY FARMERS TO DEEPEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AWARENESS, AND ACTION.