Land in Common is convening two sessions on land justice at the upcoming Maine Farmland Access and Transfer Conference, organized by Maine Farmland Trust and Land for Good. Please join us!
- When: November 18th, 8:30am-3:30pm
- Where: Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, ME
Land Justice: Acknowledging Our Past, Changing Our Futures
Plenary session (10:30am-Noon)
Speakers:
- Maria Girouard, Maine Wabanaki REACH & Penobscot Nation
- Crystal Cron, Maine Equal Justice Partners
- Sass Linneken, Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC)
- David Patrick, Racial Equity & Justice
- Facilitator: Nicola Chin, Up with Community
Land is the source of life, but it has also been a site of great harm. Much of the land that is now called “Maine” was forcibly taken from Wabanaki people by European settlers, and attacks on Native sovereignty and sustenance continue to this day. African Americans have long experienced racism and land dispossession in Maine, with the eviction of Malaga Island’s black farming community in 1912 as one prominent example. Meanwhile, more than 2,700 Latinx farmworkers help to produce Maine’s agricultural products each year, yet remain at the margins of conversations about land access and farm viability. And how many white families with low incomes are able to imagine themselves having secure land tenure and joining the movement for local, sustainable food?
This panel brings together leaders from communities in Maine that have been historically disenfranchised from secure land access and from conversations about the future of farming and farmland protection in the state. Drawing on stories of the past while looking pro-actively toward the future, they will answer two key questions: What has land injustice looked like in Maine? And what does it look like for those working toward equitable farmland access to enact justice moving forward? Speaking from personal and historical experiences, the panelists will offer us all an opportunity to acknowledge and take responsibility for the harms of the past while also equipping ourselves with new tools, and renewed commitments, for building a more equitable future.
Land Justice: A Community Conversation
Discussion session (12:45-2pm)
This session follows up from the morning plenary, offering participants an opportunity to reflect and discuss these issues in more depth and detail. The session will include speakers from the morning session and will be facilitated by Nicola Chin.
More information on the conference info site.