GARFIELD PARK — The Legler Regional Library is hosting a screening and panel discussion of a documentary about the systemic decline of Black farming families in the United States.
The showing of “Rhythms of the Land” by anthropologist and filmmaker Gail P. Myers is 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the library, 115 S. Pulaski Road. The event is free. RSVP online.
The documentary, conceptualized over a 20-year period, shares the stories of post-war Black farming families “whose intense love of the land and dedication to community enabled them to survive against overwhelming odds,” according to its website.
Myers, a cultural anthropologist, has studied the stories of Black farmers since 1997. She is the founder of nonprofit Farms to Grow, which aims to promote the legacy and support the next generation of Black farmers.
Black farmers have lost significant amounts of land and wealth since the 1900s due to discrimination. That land loss amounted to $326 million during the 20th century — a conservative estimate, according to a 2022 study published in the American Economic Association’s Papers and Proceedings Journal.
“Rhythms of the Land” focuses on the stories of farmers, rice growers, hog ranchers, dairy ranchers, sharecroppers, basket-weavers, gardeners and others, collected from more than 30 interviews, according to the film’s website.
The interviews were conducted in 2012 across South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida.
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