Only those who don't know the history of the Farm would be asking about the absence of African-American farmers. It is a statement in ignorance of the history of the Farm and a perspective that has been deliberately foisted to divert us from the issue at stake.

A couple of years ago there was a very important discussion between an alliance which was under the guardianship of an African-American community organizer (Deacon Alexander) and the South Central Farmers where the issue of the involvement was discussed. The decision was left to Deacon Alexander to propose an initiative on how to involve Black farmers on the fourteen acres of land here. To the best of my knowledge, as someone who was intimately engaged in some stages of this discussion, the matter of the movement of Black farmers was completely left to Deacon Alexander. The elected representatives of the Farmers, Tezozomoc and Rufina Juarez, were open and favorably disposed to the inclusion of not just Black farmers, indeed Black women farmers and farmers from all other races, nationalities, and ethnicities.

The organizers of the South Center Farmers have been subjected to a vicious campaign of calumny from various sectors. Some of those campaigns of character assassination, we are aware, are funded by those who are opposed to the survival of this largest urban farm in the United States, and we are confident we will overcome this round of the campaign of lies that use the participation of Black farmers as a front.

As an Internationalist and a Pan-Africanist, I hold dear the belief that the solidarity of people of color is a necessary and critical ingredient for the liberation of all humanity.

Dele Aileman
Co-Coordinator, South Central Farmers

There is speculation that it's people from the MMP that are behind these most recent attempts to divide support for the farm. Did the MMP tip their hand when then sent Hayes to the farm?

In the past it was Jan and her operatives like Mark, but they have backed off and may even be looking for a way to change their position and save face now that they may get their soccer field.

Trying to disprove the claim that there are no Black farmers can only be accomplished by showing the public the "Black Farmers", not by parading politicians, actorvists, and other friends of the farm. Come on Leslie you can do bette than thatr, you have a camera and internet connection. We know this because of your frequent posts. You call yourself a journalist, but why can't you ask the hard questions? How hard can it be for you to actually show us some black farmers? How about a grid map showing the plots actually owned by Blacks? If the outreach to Deacon Alexander was indeed made and some how it did not come to bear, why wasnt there further outreach to other Black Members of the community? Huh?

here is a picture of the SCF general assembly. Point out the blacks please and prove that am a liar. I dare you.

like always my people were denied justice.

THERE ARE NO BLACK FARMERS. The report above is a story about efforts to correct that. I went to an African who has been seriously commited to the Farm for a while now and asked him why there are no African-American Farmers. What you read above is his response. Evidently, outreach was tried and at least one community activist did not reach back.

But if you want a Farm plot, I urge you to support the Farmers' struggle. You are much more likely to get your plot through the Farmers and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust than you are with Ralph Horowitz or Wal*Mart.

As I said to you earlier, the Farmers and, I presume, the LANLT are aware of the problem and are poised to address it. I imagine they would welcome an African-descent farmer with open arms. Actually, I can't think of any reason you shouldn't apply for a plot tomorrow morning, if you qualify. You have to be low-income, and, at one point in time, you had to give up some of your welfare benefits. I don't know if that last part still applies.

Let me add (and, for those of you reading this, forgive the redundancy from my comments elsewhere): Juanita Tate, Mark Williams, and Jan Perry never, to my knowledge, asked for Farm plots for the African-American community. Perhaps if they had taken that leadership role instead of fighting for another warehouse, African-Americans would be Farmers today. They asked for a soccer field, and it seems they will get their soccer field, no matter how this turns out. Then Williams and Perry can tap into the Prop 40 Youth Soccer and Recreation Development grant money if it's still available. And then young African-Americans will be playing soccer.

And, for those paying attention to such things, I have never called myself a journalist here. Only Don Silva has done that.

I agree Blacks were denied access at the South Central Farm! Many people witnessed the despotic leadership that prevented Blacks!

Now this guy name Dele from Nigeria does not know the history of the SCF and the fact Rufina Juarez and Tezozomoc kicked out the original farmers. He even states to the affect he has not been around for a long time. But he doesn't tell you Ted Hayes attended many of Juarez and Tezozomoc's so-called meetings. Why not? Both Dele and Hayes where present. Deacon Alexander too.

Visit the 111th and Avalon farm in Watts, CA. and you will see the original map of farmers the despotic leadership threw out.

The map is on it's way to the media...

And the fat guy with Dele is Tezozomoc, despotic leader who claims he has a nonprofit organization, but there is no record with the State of CA.

Blaming "black leaders" is an old tried and true tactic, but the facts speak for themselves.

At this point in our "culture" no green, vibrant space should be given up for a walmart warehouse.

Me personally, I don't need a plot I have plenty of land for a garden. I'm speaking out for my black brothers who got a raw deal. If there was some sort of outreach, it seems like not enough effort was put into making it work.

I also heard the leaders thew out a bunch of their own people, other latinos, because they did not agree with what Rufina and Tezo wanted. One was even a pregnant woman that miscarriaged. Check the LA weekly for the story.

Believe it or not, I m in favor of turning the whole place into a central park open to the ENTIRE community, not just a select few. stop closing your eyes to the injustice that is obviously present at the farm. There are issues present beyond the famers/Horowitz angle.

Thank you for confirming that "Ted Hayes attended many of Juarez and Tezozomoc's so-called meetings. . . . Both Dele and Hayes where present. Deacon Alexander too." You've added to Dele's credibility as a source. I wasn't sure that Hayes knew that Alexander was invited to bring African American people onto the Farm. But maybe I can conclude from your post that Hayes knew about the offer and did nothing either, when African Americans were invited to farm the land.

But I have to offer one correction: Tezozomoc has not said that the Farm is a non-profit corportation. The non-profit that is the umbrella for Farm donations is the Trust for Public Land, corporation number C0650768, as I understand it.

I would invite you, too, to apply for a plot on the Farm. Again, to be a Farmer means the Farm has to be saved, so maybe I'll see you out supporting the Farm.

And please explain to me why Tate, Williams, and Perry worked so long and so hard to sell the Farm to Horowitz, if there was so much African American interest in farming. That's one piece of the puzzle I don't have.

A vibrant, green space could be a garden or a park. The area around 41st and Long Beach definately needs a park. Think about what a park would do for the souls of all the kids around there.

We need parks or gardens, not warehouses.

The farm is a small battle concerning the issue of private property, i.e. who controls land and who decides how land and resources are used.

Paving the farm would be awful but how many people's lives would be directly affected. In a metro area of 12 million we're talking about 350 families.

We need to address bigger issues of who decides how resources and land are used. The people should control the land and their lives, not just from an indigenous standpoint but the people that really live here.

I hear your concerns, I think. And I hope you're speaking for your Black sisters, too. There are a lot of women Farmers.

You should have seen the tentative model for developing the Farm that was revealed at the press conference on Saturday--or was it Friday? I've lost track--complete with an impressive community center.

You can read my response to the Weekly article here.

...is that the Farmers both tried in the past to initiate the involvement of Black farmers and have laid out a plan for opening the Farm plots up to new tenants, including especially Black farmers.

That they failed in the past - for whatever reason - means that corrective action must be taken.

That they have a plan to take corrective action means that the door is open to those who want to both be a part of this beautiful place and and to those who want to change and develop it.

As far as Black failures go, well, I don't think highly of either Deacon Alexander, or, god help me, Ted Hayes. Hayes in particular is a traitor to his people.

I for one am not suprised at their failure to take action on this.

As far as Juanita Tate, Mark Williams, and Jan Perry go, well, politicians - and I include especially politicians of color in this- are notorious for betraying the higher interests of their consituents or peoples, in this case.

The same goes for that pinche sell out Villaraigosa, but in this case, even more so.

And look, why on Earth Black politicians want a SOCCER field is beyond me. I mean their are stereotypes and there is statistical reality. We play futbol/ soccer. Blacks play basketball.

I just can't imagine the Black community demanding a damn soccer field. Whose interests does that serve? Or is it just a smokescreen?

Leslie,

How long have you known Tezozomoc?
There is documentation to prove he is not telling you everything. In the past he told a lot of people the SCF is a nonprofit 501 C3. Very shortly, the media will have information to prove he is not being fruitful with you.

Please answer why he and Rufina Juarez threw-out more than 250 original farmers?

"Black Access" is a MM - Do not engage

the farm need to be multicultural diverse not just black or latino. there are alot of asian farmers too.

Pele was black.

The reason why there aren't many Black farmers is because they're a few generations removed from the farm life. These newer immigrants are more connected. I would guess that some grew up in a rural setting, maybe didn't have running water, and maybe even worked on farms in this country.

The rural life is farming, cooking, and building. You don't go out to eat so much, because you don't have much money. In LA, where we still have farms and a lot of people who have been farm workers, the rural life is rare and fading fast. Even in immigrant neighborhoods in the city, the main thing you see is concrete and automobiles.

If you pave over that farm, there won't be farmers of any color on there.

...the meaning of being a Farmer is very different is very different for African people in the Americas, especially for African Americans, whose ancestors were enslaved "farmers," and who then were forced into the degrading position of sharecropping and Jim Crow.