For Black women farmers, tending the land is ancestral and healing

A lineage rooted in soil stretches from ancestral farmland to modern city plots, where Black women are reclaiming their role as stewards, healers, and innovators. Generations of knowledge—once carried in seeds and sustained through resilience—now face the weight of historic land loss and systemic barriers to access. Yet across communities, a new movement is taking hold, blending tradition with policy, grassroots action with economic ambition—from community gardens to land trusts, and from micro plots to broader reform. GBH News Rooted’s Paris Alston talks to Leah Penniman, the co-director and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm in New York, Nataka Crayton, co-creator of the Urban Farming Institute of Boston, and Savi Horne, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, to explore the challenges and possibilities shaping this return to the land. Together, their insights reveal a story not just of loss, but of reclamation—where cultivating the earth is also about restoring connection, building power, and reimagining what ownership, sustainability, and nourishment can look like for the future. GBH News wants to hear from YOU! We are conducting our annual audience survey 📝 https://bit.ly/3ZQXSQr. This will help us understand your interests and what you want to see more of from us. It only takes a few minutes, and we are grateful for your input. 🙌 GBH News is a premier source for in-depth local news and original story telling based in Boston, Massachusetts. Subscribe to the GBH News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/gbhnews?sub... Subscribe to our GBH Daily newsletter at https://www.wgbh.org/daily?utm_Newsle... Follow GBH News on Instagram:   / gbhnews   Like GBH News on Facebook:   / gbhnews   Follow GBH News on X:   / gbhnews   Visit our website: https://www.wgbh.org/news Support GBH and help shape a future where facts matter, stories unite us, and everyone has access to quality media. Join us. Fund the Future: https://bit.ly/FundtheFutureYT