Capital Area Food Network Statement for Racial Equity
Capital Area Food Network recognizes that racism is ‘baked’ into today’s food system, harkening back to the slave labor upon which the US economy was built. As a result of continued systems of oppression over generations, Blacks, Native Americans, Asians, and Hispanics suffer disproportionately through limited access to healthy food, loss of land ownership, low-wage jobs, food insecurity, and poorer health.
Unprecedented times in the history of the U.S.
As a nation that was founded with a colonized mindset, whose ancestors built a society with unfair and unjust advantages and disadvantages and created a culture that embraced racism and discrimination, the foundation of those thoughts is what we believe was inherently flawed from its beginning. And now the cracks in the foundation have become gaps wide enough to shatter the oppressive philosophy upon which this country was built.
For more than a century following the Civil War, when the Emancipation Proclamation declared an end to slavery, a period of oppression and segregation known as the Jim Crow era resumed through the first half of the 20th century; until the Civil Rights Movement yielded the Voter Rights Act of 1965. But by then, the consistent and unfair treatment of Blacks across multiple systems magnified the collective impact of social and economic disadvantage. From federal housing policies that promoted “redlining” black communities as poor financial risks, to the Supreme Court’s upholding of “separate but equal,” to the USDA’s discriminatory lending (or lack of lending) to Black farmers, systemic racism dug deep into the foundational institutions of housing, banking, health, and education. As a result, Blacks and marginalized communities of color grew increasingly less likely to have access to the basic life structures that support health and economic mobility. Structural racism, i.e. structures of white power and privilege, were reinforced by overlapping systems that continue to this day to perpetuate a cycle of disadvantage for non-whites.
We are in this moment experiencing a trifecta of historical events that will forever change how we move forward as a nation and society. We stand at the precipice of a radical transformative shift that will be marked by social and economic crisis, a global health crisis, and a national racial identity crisis.
It is with the colonized mindset that we have historically viewed each of the crises as separate and independent. However, what has become clear is they are not separate and independent, but rather part of a collective wheel of moral consciousness. We are, in fact, now having a crisis of moral consciousness. As a collective, we can also no longer afford to view these current events as separate from the historical events that precipitated them. We are in a time when the history of racism, discrimination, and oppression cannot be viewed separate from the modern reality of white privilege, power, and prejudice. And this crisis of moral consciousness was catalyzed with the most recent events that gripped the entire country at a moment when we all struggled to breathe. On May 25, 2020, we watched as George Floyd lost his life because of the excessive use of force applied by police officers while in custody. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds… we all could not breathe. On that day, these crisis realities collided together with a force strong enough to leave us all gasping for air.
Consider these modern-day NC examples provided by the North Carolina Justice Center: https://www.ncjustice.org/statement-from-the-nc-justice-center-we-can-no-longer-accept-a-society-built-on-white-supremacy-where-black-and-brown-people-are-diminished-disenfranchised-and-devalued/
Black Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites.
The unemployment rate of Black workers is twice as high as for whites.
The poverty rate for Black Americans is twice that of whites.
Public schools serving students of color are disproportionately underfunded and have operated for decades in an unconstitutional manner in North Carolina.
The odds of dying from pregnancy-related complications are almost three times higher for Black women than for white women.
Now, with all of these systemic barriers exposed, the death rate due to COVID-19 is twice as high for patients of color as that of white patients.
This collective series of events have taught us that we need to do better. We need to examine the root causes of social and health inequities using a race equity lens. By applying the race equity lens to our work, we can assess the impacts of racism and identify solutions that address the systemic and structural barriers that prevent Blacks, Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics and all people of color from achieving their highest potential. However, we cannot stop there, we must gauge our actions and values by the moral compass of justice and fairness. The scope of racial justice ensures that we are actively and unapologetically engaged in dismantling the system of white privilege and supremacy, where the lives of people of color are disenfranchised, devalued and discriminated against in every facet of society.
Impact of Racism on the Food System
It is important to examine how racism has impacted all aspects of the food system from farm to table.
Since the early 1900’s Black farmers have been losing their family farms at catastrophic rates. In 1920, there were nearly one million Black farmers. Today, there are only 45,503 Black farmers, which represent about 1.3% of the country’s 3.4 million farmers.
Long-standing barriers have concentrated people of color and women in many of the low-wage occupations where initial job losses from COVID-19 have occurred. These restaurant workers, farm workers, food distribution workers, meat processing workers often lack a living wage, paid sick leave, and workplace safety protections.
Challenges with food access and food insecurity, such as transportation or lack of proximity to grocery stores and farmers markets disproportionately affect Blacks and other communities of color.
Elevated rates of diet-related disease and risk factors especially affect Black and Latinx communities due to long-standing disparities in access to healthcare and healthy food.
Communities of color often lack resources to incorporate environmental practices, including the use of recycled food/waste/composting and community gardens, into community life.
Capital Area Food Network Commits to Action for Racial Equity in Wake County’s Food System
Capital Area Food Network, as an organization, recognizes and acknowledges there are foundational racial inequities built into the food system that continue to have a negative impact on Black Americans and communities of color.
Building a just and resilient local food system requires an honest self-examination and self-education about racist beliefs and practices (unconscious and otherwise). Furthermore, it requires specific ANTI-racist behaviors. Our vision of “...healthy individuals, communities, and economies through vibrant food and farm systems...” can only be achieved through the truthful, courageous, and vigilant application of a race-equity lens coupled with anti-racist actions.
CAFN has built a strong collaboration with a diverse set of multi-sector partners and community members. Within our organizational structure, CAFN created a series of action circles dedicated to each of the issues stated above: Farm Advocacy, Economic and Workforce Development, Food Access/Security, Food Recovery, and Racial Equity. Each circle prioritizes plans and actions that address racial inequities; however, we realize there is much more work to be done which the COVID-19 pandemic has vividly underscored.
Capital Area Food Network commits to collaborate with the Black, Native American, Asian, Hispanic and other people of color in the Wake County community. As a collaborator, we commit to actions that will seek to dismantle racism within the Wake County food system by:
Expanding examination of the impact of social inequalities, implicit bias, discrimination, and institutionalized racism within the food system and how policies have produced and compounded social, economic, and health inequities.
Centering Black, brown and indigenous experiences, values, and beliefs in an impartial and just delivery of healthy food, food system resources, and dignified living wage jobs.
Intentionally and strategically engaging BIPOC-led organizations and businesses in an open dialogue about the barriers and challenges faced within the community.
Working with and listening to BIPOC-led organizations and businesses to remove food system barriers, dismantle current power structures within the food system, and shift position and power to communities of color.
Promoting policies and practices for diversity and inclusion, rooted in race equity, across each of the CAFN action circles.
Advocating for anti-racist food policy and practices at all levels of government.
A final note about this statement:
Transformative change can only occur when leaders of all social, community, and government agencies dedicate human and agency resources to action and everyone takes a stand against racism in all its forms. Without a systemic, comprehensive, multi-sector approach toward dismantling racism across all societal systems, then gains made in one area may be offset by declines in another area. A firm moral commitment to justice, fairness, and collective responsibility is essential to rebuilding the foundation of societal values on grounds firmly rooted in compassionate action and personal transformation.
As a predominantly white-led network of multiple food related non-profits, government agencies, businesses, and individual volunteers, we acknowledge that our anti-racist work has only just begun. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves, continually question our lens of white privilege, and seek anti-racist actions. We will make mistakes and we promise to learn from them. We commit to revising this statement and our actions yearly, at minimum, to advance the power, honor the humanity, and respect the contribution of people of color everywhere.