African American agricultural history is a rich legacy marked by the forced labor of enslaved people who brought crucial skills from the motherland; the post-slavery struggle for land ownership amid systemic discrimination; and the groundbreaking innovations of figures like George Washington Carver and Henry Blair. Despite a significant decline in Black farm ownership due to discriminatory lending and other barriers, this history continues to be shaped by cooperative movements and a deep connection to the land. This exhibition will honor the legacy of African Americans in Agriculture on both a broad scope and a local perspective.
We are excited to have a host of community partners bringing knowledge, artistic talents, art and artifacts to this exhibition.
Community partners include:
Sacramento History Museum- Executive Director, Delta Mello, and Heather Reynolds, Museum Exhibits Manager:
Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum- Shonna R. McDaniels, executive director, Project Manager, and Artist in Sacramento.
Clarence George III, Ph.D., Assistant Professor/Director of the Cooper Woodson College Enhancement Program, Pan African Studies Program, Department of Ethnic Studies
“If you can control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man, feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man, think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.”― Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro (1933)
Dr. Tanisha Jackson, Assistant Professor in African American Studies and Director of the Community Folk Art Center at Syracuse University.
CSUS Sankofa Research Team, Sacramento State University (Sankofa Group),
California State University, Sacramento, Internship & Student Development Manager, Graduate Research Lead, Sankofa Museum Project.
CSUS IMPACT Fellow, Ethnic Studies & Psychology Researcher
Professor Sade Turnipseed -Cassie Sade Turnipseed, MS, MBA, PhD
Featured Artists Installation
Artist Helen Plenert (Cotton and Carver wood installations)
Featured Shovel Installation Artists
Alpha Bruton, Phantom Gallery Chicago- artist/chief curator, and archivist for Pop Up Research Station.
Lee McCormick
Niamah McDaniels
Shonna McDaniels - artist/activist/muralist/archivist
Helen Plenert
"Act as if what you do makes a difference, it does" ~ William James
