Honoring food justice leaders during Black History Month
February 7, 2025
Too often the innovation, contributions, and realities of Black Americans are erased and overlooked. While Black History Month is every month for many Black Coloradans, we recognize February as a time to reflect on, learn about, and pay homage to Black leaders who have shaped our society and transformed the food justice movement for generations. Advocating for equitable access to healthy, local, and culturally relevant food is deeply intertwined with the broader struggle for racial justice.
From Black farmers who formed agricultural cooperatives during Reconstruction to current advocates working to increase food access, Black communities have long been at the forefront of efforts to create sustainable, just food systems that ensure everyone can thrive. So, let’s pause and recognize some of the Black trailblazers who have built pathways to liberation through food systems.
Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist and farmer, was a pioneer in this work. She founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative in 1967 to address hunger and advance economic justice in the Mississippi Delta. By leveraging land ownership and community collaboration, Hamer showed how food sovereignty could be a tool for empowerment.
Last year, we shared more about the Black Panthers who established the first free breakfast program for children and influenced significant reform of our national school meal programs.
Today, leaders like Dr. Monica M. White, author of Freedom Farmers, continue to highlight the critical role of Black agricultural practices in building resilience. White's work uncovers the long history of Black farmers as innovators and changemakers, contributing to a broader understanding of food justice as a movement rooted in liberation.
Black History Month is not only a time to reflect on the past but also a call to action. We can honor the legacy of these trailblazers by continuing the work of building a better food future for everyone.
Here are a few ways to take action this month and throughout the year:
Buy local produce, meats, and dairy from Black-owned farms and food businesses in Colorado.
Educate ourselves about the intersections of race, food, and power. Read books like Soil by Camille T. Dungy, a Black farmer from Fort Collins, or Farming While Black by Leah Pennimin, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm.
Support Black-led organizations. Some in our Colorado network include (in alphabetical order): Andrea’s No-Cost Farmers Market, Food to Power, FrontLine Farming, and Mo' Betta Green MarketPlace. Nationally, the National Black Food and Justice Alliance is a coalition of Black-led organizations that amplify, organize, and build institutions for Black food and land sovereignty.