BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Over at the Bethlehem City Hall garden on Saturday, the city’s NAACP chapter held its own special Juneteenth event with a unique twist: a focus on food, farming, and the past, present and future of the Black community.
“From Slavery to Sovereignty: The Seeds of Life” zeroed in on the long and complex history between America’s Black community and the land that provided the bounty that fed them, from the days of slavery up to modern times.
- NAACP Bethlehem held a special event, “From Slavery to Sovereignty: The Seeds of Life," on Saturday
- Food scientist Shona Levy presented an inspiring lecture on the vast history of reparations, Black farming and the fight for true sovereignty in America
- Guests were gifted their own seeds to grow a garden at home
Tomacene Nickens, first vice president of the organization, said the event was inspired by a need to train and educate Black youth on their history with the land, and to promote a healthy future for them.
“This is why it's so important that we have a strategic plan of action, that we have our government, support us in our initiatives, to hear what we really want. What we really need is sovereignty, so that we can plant a tree for our great grandchildren, and our great-great grandchildren, and they can eat."Food scientist Shona Levy
“This year, we chose seeds – we're going to plant seeds and for growth," Nickens said. "Back in the slavery times, that's how we did things, you know, we had to grow all the food that we ate. So this is something that we're doing today, and everybody will be able to take to take away seeds to plant and to grow.”
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One special guest included the Rev. Kari Holmes of Deliverance Evangelistic Church International, who led the attendees in a chorus of “Life Every Voice and Sing,” later performing a stunning original piece, “You are the Seed.”
Keynote speaker Shona Levy, a food scientist from Pottstown, presented an engaging lecture on the subject of reparations, Black farming and the pursuit of true sovereignty in the community.
Levy emphasized the failure of the reparation movement, though she did allude to the potential for it to return in the future, and the education and support of Black farmers and youth in order to become self-sufficient and far healthier.
“This is why it's so important that we have a strategic plan of action, that we have our government, support us in our initiatives, to hear what we really want," Levy said. "What we really need is sovereignty, so that we can plant a tree for our great grandchildren, and our great-great grandchildren, and they can eat.”
Visitors were gifted with seeds and information to grow their own produce at home, whether that would encompass a small field, or perhaps just a window box in an apartment, in order to allow everyone access to fresh, organic food.
NAACP Bethlehem President Esther Lee echoed the sentiments of Levy, encouraging the crowd to take a strong stand in the mission to fight for equality and the future of the Black community, and for everyone to do anything they could to promote that future for today’s youth.
“We as Black people are not limited in what we can provide for our children. People, don’t think you’ve got us against a wall -– there’s no wall big enough,” Lee said.
