Seeds of solidarity between Gill Tract and AfrikaTown

Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Info Source: 
Occupy the Farm Website

[Editor’s Note: For over a year, community residents have been occupying the Gill Tract, land Occupy the Farmowned by the University of California in Albany, CA. The university wants to develop the land into high-end shopping and residential units, the community wants an urban garden. Members of the Friends of the MST have been involved in this struggle, which has received the support by the MST. Click on “Occupy the Farm” to connect with their website.

This morning, the UC police came to the south side of the Gill Tract to dismantle the farm stand and plough the crops that were lovingly planted this past weekend with over 400 community members and students from across the state.

Though the UC succeeded in destroying the crops, farmers were able to preserve the farm stand. The farm stand is now providing defense, and a space to share food, for the community at AfrikaTown garden in Oakland.

Destroying food that could feed people, cutting trees that help us breathe: This is what our public university does to demoralize and destroy community resistance to their profit-driven privatization plans.

After weeks of building solidarity, we made plans to bring the farmstand down to the AfrikaTown garden in Oakland, which is facing imminent threat of bulldozing for a gentrifying development project. The farm stand will be resurrected in their garden at this other site of struggle so that it can be productively used in their programs to feed the community, and to help in their efforts to defend the land.

This is solidarity. This is a resilient community building strength. This is the movement we aim to cultivate.

If you want to get involved with Occupy the Farm, you can take this quick survey and we’ll contact you to get plugged in.