“We had a Great Migration. I think it was then that we developed this idea that eating wild game and growing gardens—this lack of explicit consumerism—was linked to the poverty and oppression that our great-grandparents were running from. It only takes two generations for someone to lose sight of that stuff,” says Wilkins.
This is a very interesting point that I never considered. Around 90% of the black community lives in urban areas, and an unfortunate casualty of this migration shift is the loss of connection to some of the skills our ancestors cultivated and survived on. Whereas, even my wealthy white HS classmates living in Buckhead mansions still maintained a connection to activities like hunting.
Yes, I have written about this before and have so much more to say on the subject. The Great Migration was a forced migration, and it is key we remember it as such so that we can make the discussion about the horrific impacts it had on Black people more common than the dominant narrative that coming North was ultimately good for us. We were refugees forced from our land and we have not recovered spiritually, financially, or ecologically from this forced migration.
I think it's also so important to stress that our ancestors — not even really ancestors, my grandmother was a sharecropper! — did not just have these skills for SURVIVAL, but they were CULTURAL skills we brought from Africa. the Portuguese literally spied on West African coasts to identify the ethnic groups with the specific land knowledge they needed and intentionally kidnapped people from those tribes and areas so that this Indigenous knowledge could be used for capitalism here. So hunting isn't just something we did to survive in North America/Turtle Island, it's something we have always done.
very great points and topics I would like to read more on. It makes me think of Nearest Green and Jack Daniels and how they traced the methods back to West African traditions.
You're absolutely correct, it's not like we were given a welcome invitation to move North, we were literal REFUGEES escaping state-sponsored terrorism! I often observe a cultural reproach from activities that are mostly associated with southern rural life, as if we are beyond those things today, but these are in reality traditions and activities that are deeply pivotal to our culture and great skills to maintain and pass on to future generations
In the show "North of North" a young girl and her grandmother come upon a majestic Caribou. So beautiful! The young girl ends up killing it and gets celebrated for her first kill. After the shock I was like "of course that is what would happen". I'm glad I got "slapped down". That's how I broaden my perspective.
“We had a Great Migration. I think it was then that we developed this idea that eating wild game and growing gardens—this lack of explicit consumerism—was linked to the poverty and oppression that our great-grandparents were running from. It only takes two generations for someone to lose sight of that stuff,” says Wilkins.
This is a very interesting point that I never considered. Around 90% of the black community lives in urban areas, and an unfortunate casualty of this migration shift is the loss of connection to some of the skills our ancestors cultivated and survived on. Whereas, even my wealthy white HS classmates living in Buckhead mansions still maintained a connection to activities like hunting.
Yes, I have written about this before and have so much more to say on the subject. The Great Migration was a forced migration, and it is key we remember it as such so that we can make the discussion about the horrific impacts it had on Black people more common than the dominant narrative that coming North was ultimately good for us. We were refugees forced from our land and we have not recovered spiritually, financially, or ecologically from this forced migration.
I think it's also so important to stress that our ancestors — not even really ancestors, my grandmother was a sharecropper! — did not just have these skills for SURVIVAL, but they were CULTURAL skills we brought from Africa. the Portuguese literally spied on West African coasts to identify the ethnic groups with the specific land knowledge they needed and intentionally kidnapped people from those tribes and areas so that this Indigenous knowledge could be used for capitalism here. So hunting isn't just something we did to survive in North America/Turtle Island, it's something we have always done.
very great points and topics I would like to read more on. It makes me think of Nearest Green and Jack Daniels and how they traced the methods back to West African traditions.
You're absolutely correct, it's not like we were given a welcome invitation to move North, we were literal REFUGEES escaping state-sponsored terrorism! I often observe a cultural reproach from activities that are mostly associated with southern rural life, as if we are beyond those things today, but these are in reality traditions and activities that are deeply pivotal to our culture and great skills to maintain and pass on to future generations
In the show "North of North" a young girl and her grandmother come upon a majestic Caribou. So beautiful! The young girl ends up killing it and gets celebrated for her first kill. After the shock I was like "of course that is what would happen". I'm glad I got "slapped down". That's how I broaden my perspective.
I remember that moment and I love that show! Such a beautiful reminder of what life can be when we live with nature and not on top of it
Food sovereignty is one of the most underrated pieces of community; it invites sharing as a normal activity.
Fascinating…
Power to the people!
I love this.