November 18, 2024 • 24 mins
Keone Young's remarkable journey from the Columbia River Correctional Institution to becoming the Black Outreach Coordinator at Growing Gardens showcases the transformative power of gardening in fostering community and social justice. Tune into this episode of the Radical Root podcast as Keone shares his inspiring transition, emphasizing how the Let Us Grow program offers meaningful educational opportunities that help reduce recidivism and open doors for formerly incarcerated individuals. Through our engaging conversation, Keone sheds light on how collaborative efforts and resource allocation can effectively engage black Americans and people of color in Oregon's agricultural initiatives.
We explore the critical role of connecting communities with agricultural opportunities, highlighting initiatives like Black Futures and Lettuce Grow. Keone discusses the vision of creating a "spider web" community hub that bridges the gap between black Americans and agricultural resources, despite the challenges of institutional barriers. Celebrate the progress made in nurturing interest and participation, and hear Keone's aspirations for expanding educational programs for those transitioning out of incarceration. By emphasizing perseverance, adaptability, and systemic advocacy, this episode encourages listeners to pursue their passion for agriculture and community building, overcoming obstacles with determination and collective effort.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Radical Root podcast hosted by
the 501c3 non-profit GrowingGardens, your go-to resource for
all things radical gardeningand food system advocacy.
All right, welcome to theRadical Root.
My name is Bea, I'm thedevelopment manager here at
(00:24):
Growing Gardens and I'll be yourhost for today's episode.
This month on the Radical Root,our topic is creative
approaches to radical gardeningand food system equity.
The idea is that you don'treally have to garden to be a
radical gardener.
You can still make an amazingand important impact in your
community.
Today, I'm joined by Keone ofour Let Us Grow program to talk
(00:46):
about one of the foundationalcornerstones of radical
gardening work, and that isresource allocation and
collaboration.
Keone, I'm so glad you're herewith us today.
Can you just hop right in andtell us a little bit about
yourself, your name, yourpronouns and what's your role at
Growing Gardens?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Thank you.
Thank you, bea.
My name is Keone Young.
I'm currently the he him.
I am currently the BlackOutreach Coordinator at Growing
Gardens, or Growing Gardens forthe Let Us Grow program Sorry, I
always get caught up with that.
So I currently do outreachthrough one of the 14 prisons in
(01:23):
Oregon, which is Columbia RiverCorrectional Institution, and
at that institution we teach theSeeds to Supper, which is a
prerequisite to the MasterGardener's course, and the ideal
for this program is to orspecifically my job in this role
is to increase the enrollmentof African-Americans and people
(01:45):
of color.
This is specifically importantto me because I was a
participant of the Let Us Growprogram and found my passion for
gardening and farming throughLet Us Grow.
I was raised in Portland,oregon.
There wasn't really a lot ofagriculture or anything to do
with that had to do with farming.
(02:06):
Growing up here and findingthis was really inspirational
for my moving forward.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
That is so awesome.
Thank you so much for sharingthat, and we're going to get
into more of the details behindthat and how you ended up kind
of in this line of work and,like the story that is, you know
, so frequently echoed by otherpeople of color, people in the
incarceration system, peoplereally trying to get back to the
(02:35):
land here in Oregon, I'm reallyexcited to kind of dig deeper
into this story with you.
So can you share I mean youtouched on it a little bit but
what really brought you togrowing gardens?
Like how did you get inspiredto do this work?
When did you hear about the LetUs Grow program and kind of
what went from hearing about LetUs Grow to actually working
(02:56):
with Let Us Grow?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So that is a that's a hard one.
I will try my best to answer asclearly as possible.
That's a hard one.
I will try my best to answer asclearly as possible.
So in 2019-20,.
I met Rima and Mirabai Collinsat CRCI.
I happened to see a flyer thatsaid Seeds to Supper come grow
with us and I was like thatlooks interesting.
(03:19):
I'm going to try it out.
After I met Rima and Mirabai, Iwas kind of like infected by
agriculture and like thepossibilities for my community
that I grew up in and had neverseen any specifically Black
agriculture, which is my role atBlack Futures Farm, is just
(03:39):
being a Black farmer and growingcommunity, as my co-farmer,
Daniel Grady, says.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's awesome.
So you at the time wereincarcerated when you heard
about the Let Us Grow programand got involved in the seed to
supper class.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I was about nine months from release and Reema
and Mirabai were like hey, youdon't have enough time to finish
both classes, but if you wouldlike to do some self-study and
get certified, we might be ableto offer you a job.
And through my dedication andhard work, rima and Mirabai
(04:16):
brought me onto the team like Iwas one of their own, like I'd
been here forever and it wasmeant to be.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
That's amazing.
Yeah, that's an initiative thatwe are so passionate about here
at Growing Gardens.
Is, you know, like reallyworking hard to educate,
advocate for and then hire thepeople in the communities that
we serve, because otherwise, youknow, we need to hear those
voices and we need to reflect onthose voices in everything that
we do.
So this is just another one ofthose amazing stories of a
(04:43):
program participant becoming astaff member here at Growing
Gardens.
So for those folks that mightbe listening today that haven't
heard about Let Us Grow, can youjust share a little bit about
what our Let Us Grow program isand what we do?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So Let Us Grow is in 14, all 14 of the Oregon State
Prisons, as well as Sheridan,which is a federal institution,
and I think we may do a littlebit of work in juvenile
facilities or are working towork in juvenile facilities but,
based on various hurdles, it'sa little harder to get with the
(05:19):
juveniles.
So ideally we would like tolower recidivism through
education and programming.
Just having that positive,something positive to do when
you're inside, to transfer out,is super important to just your
program as a community memberand transitioning into a safe
space.
(05:39):
So through education we hope tooffer jobs and lower recidivism
.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Amazing, yeah, and we offer a variety of different
classes.
I think it's different, right,like each facility kind of has
different classes or differentprograms that are available.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So yes, I want to say year added a plant diagnostics
as well as plant diagnostics andplant identification or no
plant diagnostics and plantpathology.
Yes, there's a lot of plant.
There's all different aspectsof planting going on that we
have been working on.
There's also a ectomology thestudy of bugs, which is now
being incorporated into theSeeds to Supper and Master
(06:30):
Gardeners, just so when the AICsget out Adults in Custody,
sorry are released.
They have like something to puton that resume that someone may
not have.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
Thank you for just kind ofproviding that context about Let
Us Grow.
So you mentioned a little bitearlier that your role is.
I believe you're what's yourofficial title the Black
Educator, or Black BlackOutreach Coordinator.
Black, outreach Coordinatorwith the Let Us Grow program,
and this is a new role and Iwanted to talk a little bit
(07:03):
about that, like why did wedecide to hire for this specific
role?
Like why did we know that thisabsolutely needed to happen and
we needed someone in thisposition?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
So the low.
So for one, the enrollment inAfrican-Americans and people of
color was very, very low, whichI think don't quote me on this.
We were able to raise by 10%last year, so that was just a
calling.
There's a big movement forwardin agriculture, especially for
(07:35):
African-Americans.
So just restoring healthyland-based practices and giving
people of color andAfrican-Americans their right to
the land is just kind of likemy job, just disconnecting the
trauma from gardening andfarming and making it something
so pro-social and acceptable forpeople of color and
(07:58):
African-Americans to do.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
That's some powerful work right there.
So I know, too, connected withthis work, that there was a
challenge involved because youyourself were exiting your own
incarceration.
So what kind of what did thatlook like?
Like the idea was to have aperson of color, a Black person,
(08:21):
be at these gardens, you know,as you know, to represent and to
say, hey, like we're here,let's do this work together and
let me, you know, kind of guideyou in that process.
So that was the idea, but thereality was a little bit
different than that, you know,once you're on the outside,
because there's a lot of redtape.
So I'd love to hear a littlebit about what that has looked
(08:42):
like for you coming into the LetUs Grow program.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
So what we all thought was going to be me being
released and me going to be ateacher and having someone for
our classes to identify with andjust being the face of
agriculture, just saying thatthis is actually happening
outside, was the goal.
After my release, we found outthat I would not be able to get
(09:08):
back into prison not back in,but into prison to teach the
classes for, I think, five tosix years, which obviously was
not the plan.
But we've been working throughthat, just through a lot of
advertisements, flyers and justmaking the face of agriculture
in prison more color, justdiversifying our portfolio, our
(09:32):
flyers, just just something.
Things so as simple as puttingmore books about
african-americans into thelibrary that farm, as well as
posters that portrayafrican-americans farming in
harmony just finding those waysto have Black representation on
the inside.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
And it's amazing to me that that was such a
challenge and something thatwasn't available to begin with,
knowing full well that people ofcolor are disproportionately
incarcerated, you know, and thatsomehow we had a lower rate of
people of color involved in thisprogram to begin with.
Like these are the folks that weneed the most support, that we
(10:10):
want to, you know, like reallyhelp them get to that next level
, you know, and give them theresources that they have not had
access to because of the waythat the system is set up.
So it's amazing to me that, likeit's almost an afterthought to
have to be like, hey, let's getblack representation.
You know where you were, hadbeen released, so, for whatever
(10:50):
reason, that kind of boundarywas set up, and now you're just
having to come up with all ofthese creative ways to represent
people of color on the inside,from the outside, which is
amazing.
What are some other ways thatyou're like kind of bridging the
gap?
Are some other ways that you'relike kind of bridging the gap?
I know that you do a lot ofresource allocation or, like you
know what happens, are you ableto connect with people once
(11:11):
they're released?
Or, you know, do you meetpeople that were previously
incarcerated and help them Likewhat are some other ways that
you're kind of representing ourwork and your work and let us
grow on the outside?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
So that is a very interesting question, because
it's extremely difficult to workwith the people that have been
released because we are notactually supposed to reach out
to them.
It's a very strange connectionbetween DOC and let us grow from
my understanding is you know, Idon't understand it, I couldn't
(11:48):
tell you, but I'm almost surethat we are not able to get
ahold of them.
They have to get ahold of usonce they are released.
So that I mean kind of causes aproblem all in itself because
you can work with.
So these classes are nine, thefirst class is nine months, the
second one is 12 months.
Classes are nine, the firstclass is nine months, the second
one is 12 months.
So just, and then once somebodyreleases, it's not like, oh well
(12:11):
, I'm going to call Keone it,let us grow.
It's, it's not that easy, asmuch, as much, as great as it be
, because you know you'regetting out, you have to get all
your stuff, all your ducks in arow, and gardening is probably
the last thing on anyone's mind.
So it's like it's just, it's aconstant hurdle of okay, how do
how do we get in contact withyou?
(12:32):
Who do we get in contact?
And it's not, and we actuallydon't offer jobs.
We offer a community networkthat offers jobs, if that makes
sense.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, we don't usually offer jobs internally,
and I mean because it requiresfunding for us as well.
Like every one of our positionsis either grant funded or, you
know, as a nonprofitorganization.
We have to hit that milestone.
You know, we bake it into ourbudget and we say this is who we
would like to hire.
Maybe can we raise the funds tomake that happen, which, by the
(13:03):
way, you know, you can alwaysdonate to Growing Gardens to
help us so we can add more staff.
But, yeah, these are the uniquechallenges that we have.
Like, of course, we would loveto be able to say, hey, you know
, like we have a program wherewe hire previously incarcerated
individuals to work for us inthis capacity, but we can't,
it's just not that easy.
And then there's these otheryou, these other roadblocks that
(13:26):
come up, like in the situationof Keone, where you can't go
back in but you want to be ableto bridge the gap in this way or
they can't directly reach forhow you can actually provide
resources for them.
So it's just another way thatthe odds are stacked against
(13:50):
people of color and anotherreason that we actively need to
be doing this work that we'redoing every day.
So, thank you.
That sounds like a reallycomplicated and frustrating
position to be in.
What are some other likecreative ways that you have gone
about this?
I know you mentioned beforethat you also work in addition
(14:11):
to working with Growing Gardens.
You work with Black FuturesFarm and there's kind of a
relationship there where youkind of bridge the gap.
I don't know if you want toshare a bit about who Black
Futures Farm is or any otherorganizations or any other ways
that you kind of help people ofcolor on the outside like tap in
and reconnect with the earth.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
OK, so that was.
That was a lot of question, soI'm going to try to.
I'm going to try to stay onpoint.
So at Black, so my role, how itdirectly corresponds with Let
Us Grow and Black Futures Iwould say that Black Futures is
like a hub.
That is where I find the peoplethat are looking to have more
(14:54):
African-Americans in theirprogramming, because obviously
at Black Futures we are acommunity nonprofit that works
to reestablish the connectionbetween African-Americans and
the land.
So we get a plethora of peoplethroughout the community that
have jobs in agriculture, thatare working in agriculture, and
(15:16):
that's kind of like my spiderweb.
So I'm constantly like lookingaround, like, oh, what do you do
?
Oh, you're looking for help.
Well, I know this guy that'sreally good with bugs or
so-and-so.
So that's kind of where my workat Black Futures and Let Us
Grow collide.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I love that you called it a spider web.
So you kind of just you knowyou're the connector, you find
those you know those threadsthat really pull the community
together in that way?
Yes, so what would you say now,knowing like on the outside,
this position doesn't look likewhat you expected it to look
like, and you're kind of findingthese creative solutions and
(15:53):
you know, like, regardless ofall of the red tape and all of
the ways that they're trying toprohibit this position from
really like looking like wewanted it to in the first place,
how do you feel about theposition that you have?
Like, what are the results ofthe happy medium that you found?
Do you feel like you knowyou're able to really go out in
the community and make an impactin this capacity for growing
(16:18):
gardens?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
I think for sure.
I get inquiries almost threetimes a week about how I can,
how people can get like involvedand like what they can do, and
it's a constant puzzle of oh Ican send you here, and sometimes
the pieces don't fit Like,sometimes it just doesn't work,
but most of the time, from myexperience, it's like the people
(16:40):
that are looking to do thiswork are genuinely looking for
community not only community,but something that's sustainable
.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely I'm curious what kind
of where do you see or I knowyou mentioned that it could be
upwards of six years before youcan actually be in a facility
you know as an educator Like, doyou have any big projects or
(17:09):
anything kind of that you'rehoping to add to this position
in the future, while you kind ofwait until you can get in and
do that education piece?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So we would really like to maybe have like a for it
.
So, like me, I was not actuallyable to do the whole 21 months
of class in jail.
So just to have like that class, so to have a group of people
that have been released thatwere like, oh well, I couldn't
finish the class, is there a wayto do the class?
That would ideally be until Ican go teach in the prison.
(17:42):
That would be my ideal, ourhopes, but hopefully in the next
, really the greatest hopes ofall will be that my lockout will
be over soon and I will be inprison teaching the seeds to
supper and master gardeners.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I know we have such such anamazing and powerful team of
folks like working together tohelp make that happen, to kind
of offer those classesafterwards for folks who
couldn't finish, because thatjust it gives them something you
know on the outside, somethingto look forward to and something
to do and accomplish and youknow like feel really strong and
(18:20):
good about.
So I think that's like anamazing idea and I really hope
we're able to make that happen.
And overall, keone, I just wantto thank you for taking the time
to be here because this is sucha powerful story for anyone
listening who just feels likethey want to get involved or
they want to do the work but,for whatever reason, their
circumstances prohibit them frommaking it happen.
(18:42):
You know, like maybe theythemselves, anyone listening who
has been previouslyincarcerated that really wants
to do this kind of work, or youknow, whatever life throws in
our way that makes us feel likeyou know, we want to do
something but we can't.
I think this is an amazingexample of how, like there's all
of these different ways that wecan approach a problem and,
(19:04):
especially if you have communityand resources, that we can make
that happen.
So I'm curious from your ownyou know perspective, having
lived this and having kind ofworked into this position the
way that you have, what advicecan you give to any listeners
out there that might be feelinglike they can't?
You know what advice can youshare?
Speaker 2 (19:26):
If you feel like you can't farm or garden or be an
agricultural like force, you'redoing it.
But the minute you have thatfeeling you are accomplishing a
milestone and it's just allabout busting that barrier and
getting to the next.
Oh, I can't do this.
And that's when you know you'rereally farming and gardening
because something changed.
(19:47):
That was supposed to be easy,breezy, beautiful, and it is
going to be beautiful.
You just have to get it to thatpoint.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
I love that.
I love the get to the next.
That's awesome advice.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
And it's farming Like nothing is ever going to be the
same.
The climate is constantlychanging, the regulations are
constantly changing.
The space is constantly gettingsmaller, although we hope it's
getting bigger.
There's hurdles.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
That's such a good call in.
Yeah, even when, you know, evenfor those that feel like
everything's coming up, daisies,and it's all going great, you
know there's always somethingaround the corner that feels
prohibitive, you know.
So just keep going.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Look for, I mean like , look into green stuff there's.
There's things in places whereyou can make a difference in
green voting and making read,read your packages, go to your
legislators and read yourpackages and you will find.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, that advocacy piece, that you know it's so
easy to say, okay, let's get out, and you know garden, get our
hands in the soil.
Yes, let's definitely do that.
But that other piece of thiswork, that like real systemic
change and advocacy, cannot beoverlooked.
So I always wrap up theseinterviews by asking people to
(21:08):
share their most usefulgardening fact or just something
that you absolutely love andadore about nature and our
ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I love that it is constantly changing and that
just goes back to if it's easy,breezy beautiful, it's too easy
to believe, just believe therewill be a bug, there will be
something and it will still bebeautiful yeah, whatever,
whatever it evolves into, I mean, and that's amazing, it makes
(21:40):
me think of like compost, youknow, or just like that process
of you know, finding somethingbeautiful and that degeneration,
and then it really becomes likerich, fertile soils, rich
fertile soil for the next thing.
Because I would never eatanything out of a compost pile.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Not advised, definitely not advised, but yeah
.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Something grown out of a compost pile is the most
beautiful thing in the world.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Absolutely.
Thank you, Keone.
Is there anything else you'dlike to add or anyone you'd like
to shout out before we wrap uphere?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Shout out Rima Green, jason Skipton, black Futures
Farm, malcolm and MirabaiCollins, the Black Food
Sovereignty Coalition andeverybody that plays a part in
this beautiful agriculturalworld that we live in.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Thank you so much and , for anyone listening, you can
find links to those resources inour comments and any person
that was mentioned.
You can find them in ourdirectory at Growing Gardens and
you can reach out to us If youhave any questions.
If you wanna reach out to Keone, if you're someone who's really
interested in local resourcesor just what you could do in
(22:51):
your own community and you'rejust looking for some advice or
you know some feedback on anidea, we are always here for you
at Growing Gardens.
You can go to our websitegrowing-gardensorg and look up
who we are our team, for acomplete team directory there,
or check the show notes fromthis episode.
Keone, it was really greatconnecting with you.
(23:13):
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Thank you so much for your time B.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Absolutely All right, have a good one.
We'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Yep, I'll see you soon.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Thank you for tuning in to the Radical Root podcast
hosted by the 501c3 nonprofitGrowing Gardens.
To learn more about our work orto donate to keep our programs
and services thriving, pleasevisit us at growing-gardensorg.
While you're there, don'tforget to download your free
(23:50):
copy of the radical gardeningresource guide, your
step-by-step action path to agreener future for us all.
Welcome to the Radical Root podcast hosted by
the 501c3 non-profit GrowingGardens, your go-to resource for
all things radical gardeningand food system advocacy.
All right, welcome to theRadical Root.
My name is Bea, I'm thedevelopment manager here at
(00:24):
Growing Gardens and I'll be yourhost for today's episode.
This month on the Radical Root,our topic is creative
approaches to radical gardeningand food system equity.
The idea is that you don'treally have to garden to be a
radical gardener.
You can still make an amazingand important impact in your
community.
Today, I'm joined by Keone ofour Let Us Grow program to talk
(00:46):
about one of the foundationalcornerstones of radical
gardening work, and that isresource allocation and
collaboration.
Keone, I'm so glad you're herewith us today.
Can you just hop right in andtell us a little bit about
yourself, your name, yourpronouns and what's your role at
Growing Gardens?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Thank you.
Thank you, bea.
My name is Keone Young.
I'm currently the he him.
I am currently the BlackOutreach Coordinator at Growing
Gardens, or Growing Gardens forthe Let Us Grow program Sorry, I
always get caught up with that.
So I currently do outreachthrough one of the 14 prisons in
(01:23):
Oregon, which is Columbia RiverCorrectional Institution, and
at that institution we teach theSeeds to Supper, which is a
prerequisite to the MasterGardener's course, and the ideal
for this program is to orspecifically my job in this role
is to increase the enrollmentof African-Americans and people
(01:45):
of color.
This is specifically importantto me because I was a
participant of the Let Us Growprogram and found my passion for
gardening and farming throughLet Us Grow.
I was raised in Portland,oregon.
There wasn't really a lot ofagriculture or anything to do
with that had to do with farming.
(02:06):
Growing up here and findingthis was really inspirational
for my moving forward.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
That is so awesome.
Thank you so much for sharingthat, and we're going to get
into more of the details behindthat and how you ended up kind
of in this line of work and,like the story that is, you know
, so frequently echoed by otherpeople of color, people in the
incarceration system, peoplereally trying to get back to the
(02:35):
land here in Oregon, I'm reallyexcited to kind of dig deeper
into this story with you.
So can you share I mean youtouched on it a little bit but
what really brought you togrowing gardens?
Like how did you get inspiredto do this work?
When did you hear about the LetUs Grow program and kind of
what went from hearing about LetUs Grow to actually working
(02:56):
with Let Us Grow?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So that is a that's a hard one.
I will try my best to answer asclearly as possible.
That's a hard one.
I will try my best to answer asclearly as possible.
So in 2019-20,.
I met Rima and Mirabai Collinsat CRCI.
I happened to see a flyer thatsaid Seeds to Supper come grow
with us and I was like thatlooks interesting.
(03:19):
I'm going to try it out.
After I met Rima and Mirabai, Iwas kind of like infected by
agriculture and like thepossibilities for my community
that I grew up in and had neverseen any specifically Black
agriculture, which is my role atBlack Futures Farm, is just
(03:39):
being a Black farmer and growingcommunity, as my co-farmer,
Daniel Grady, says.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's awesome.
So you at the time wereincarcerated when you heard
about the Let Us Grow programand got involved in the seed to
supper class.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I was about nine months from release and Reema
and Mirabai were like hey, youdon't have enough time to finish
both classes, but if you wouldlike to do some self-study and
get certified, we might be ableto offer you a job.
And through my dedication andhard work, rima and Mirabai
(04:16):
brought me onto the team like Iwas one of their own, like I'd
been here forever and it wasmeant to be.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
That's amazing.
Yeah, that's an initiative thatwe are so passionate about here
at Growing Gardens.
Is, you know, like reallyworking hard to educate,
advocate for and then hire thepeople in the communities that
we serve, because otherwise, youknow, we need to hear those
voices and we need to reflect onthose voices in everything that
we do.
So this is just another one ofthose amazing stories of a
(04:43):
program participant becoming astaff member here at Growing
Gardens.
So for those folks that mightbe listening today that haven't
heard about Let Us Grow, can youjust share a little bit about
what our Let Us Grow program isand what we do?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So Let Us Grow is in 14, all 14 of the Oregon State
Prisons, as well as Sheridan,which is a federal institution,
and I think we may do a littlebit of work in juvenile
facilities or are working towork in juvenile facilities but,
based on various hurdles, it'sa little harder to get with the
(05:19):
juveniles.
So ideally we would like tolower recidivism through
education and programming.
Just having that positive,something positive to do when
you're inside, to transfer out,is super important to just your
program as a community memberand transitioning into a safe
space.
(05:39):
So through education we hope tooffer jobs and lower recidivism
.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Amazing, yeah, and we offer a variety of different
classes.
I think it's different, right,like each facility kind of has
different classes or differentprograms that are available.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So yes, I want to say year added a plant diagnostics
as well as plant diagnostics andplant identification or no
plant diagnostics and plantpathology.
Yes, there's a lot of plant.
There's all different aspectsof planting going on that we
have been working on.
There's also a ectomology thestudy of bugs, which is now
being incorporated into theSeeds to Supper and Master
(06:30):
Gardeners, just so when the AICsget out Adults in Custody,
sorry are released.
They have like something to puton that resume that someone may
not have.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
Thank you for just kind ofproviding that context about Let
Us Grow.
So you mentioned a little bitearlier that your role is.
I believe you're what's yourofficial title the Black
Educator, or Black BlackOutreach Coordinator.
Black, outreach Coordinatorwith the Let Us Grow program,
and this is a new role and Iwanted to talk a little bit
(07:03):
about that, like why did wedecide to hire for this specific
role?
Like why did we know that thisabsolutely needed to happen and
we needed someone in thisposition?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
So the low.
So for one, the enrollment inAfrican-Americans and people of
color was very, very low, whichI think don't quote me on this.
We were able to raise by 10%last year, so that was just a
calling.
There's a big movement forwardin agriculture, especially for
(07:35):
African-Americans.
So just restoring healthyland-based practices and giving
people of color andAfrican-Americans their right to
the land is just kind of likemy job, just disconnecting the
trauma from gardening andfarming and making it something
so pro-social and acceptable forpeople of color and
(07:58):
African-Americans to do.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
That's some powerful work right there.
So I know, too, connected withthis work, that there was a
challenge involved because youyourself were exiting your own
incarceration.
So what kind of what did thatlook like?
Like the idea was to have aperson of color, a Black person,
(08:21):
be at these gardens, you know,as you know, to represent and to
say, hey, like we're here,let's do this work together and
let me, you know, kind of guideyou in that process.
So that was the idea, but thereality was a little bit
different than that, you know,once you're on the outside,
because there's a lot of redtape.
So I'd love to hear a littlebit about what that has looked
(08:42):
like for you coming into the LetUs Grow program.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
So what we all thought was going to be me being
released and me going to be ateacher and having someone for
our classes to identify with andjust being the face of
agriculture, just saying thatthis is actually happening
outside, was the goal.
After my release, we found outthat I would not be able to get
(09:08):
back into prison not back in,but into prison to teach the
classes for, I think, five tosix years, which obviously was
not the plan.
But we've been working throughthat, just through a lot of
advertisements, flyers and justmaking the face of agriculture
in prison more color, justdiversifying our portfolio, our
(09:32):
flyers, just just something.
Things so as simple as puttingmore books about
african-americans into thelibrary that farm, as well as
posters that portrayafrican-americans farming in
harmony just finding those waysto have Black representation on
the inside.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
And it's amazing to me that that was such a
challenge and something thatwasn't available to begin with,
knowing full well that people ofcolor are disproportionately
incarcerated, you know, and thatsomehow we had a lower rate of
people of color involved in thisprogram to begin with.
Like these are the folks that weneed the most support, that we
(10:10):
want to, you know, like reallyhelp them get to that next level
, you know, and give them theresources that they have not had
access to because of the waythat the system is set up.
So it's amazing to me that, likeit's almost an afterthought to
have to be like, hey, let's getblack representation.
You know where you were, hadbeen released, so, for whatever
(10:50):
reason, that kind of boundarywas set up, and now you're just
having to come up with all ofthese creative ways to represent
people of color on the inside,from the outside, which is
amazing.
What are some other ways thatyou're like kind of bridging the
gap?
Are some other ways that you'relike kind of bridging the gap?
I know that you do a lot ofresource allocation or, like you
know what happens, are you ableto connect with people once
(11:11):
they're released?
Or, you know, do you meetpeople that were previously
incarcerated and help them Likewhat are some other ways that
you're kind of representing ourwork and your work and let us
grow on the outside?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
So that is a very interesting question, because
it's extremely difficult to workwith the people that have been
released because we are notactually supposed to reach out
to them.
It's a very strange connectionbetween DOC and let us grow from
my understanding is you know, Idon't understand it, I couldn't
(11:48):
tell you, but I'm almost surethat we are not able to get
ahold of them.
They have to get ahold of usonce they are released.
So that I mean kind of causes aproblem all in itself because
you can work with.
So these classes are nine, thefirst class is nine months, the
second one is 12 months.
Classes are nine, the firstclass is nine months, the second
one is 12 months.
So just, and then once somebodyreleases, it's not like, oh well
(12:11):
, I'm going to call Keone it,let us grow.
It's, it's not that easy, asmuch, as much, as great as it be
, because you know you'regetting out, you have to get all
your stuff, all your ducks in arow, and gardening is probably
the last thing on anyone's mind.
So it's like it's just, it's aconstant hurdle of okay, how do
how do we get in contact withyou?
(12:32):
Who do we get in contact?
And it's not, and we actuallydon't offer jobs.
We offer a community networkthat offers jobs, if that makes
sense.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, we don't usually offer jobs internally,
and I mean because it requiresfunding for us as well.
Like every one of our positionsis either grant funded or, you
know, as a nonprofitorganization.
We have to hit that milestone.
You know, we bake it into ourbudget and we say this is who we
would like to hire.
Maybe can we raise the funds tomake that happen, which, by the
(13:03):
way, you know, you can alwaysdonate to Growing Gardens to
help us so we can add more staff.
But, yeah, these are the uniquechallenges that we have.
Like, of course, we would loveto be able to say, hey, you know
, like we have a program wherewe hire previously incarcerated
individuals to work for us inthis capacity, but we can't,
it's just not that easy.
And then there's these otheryou, these other roadblocks that
(13:26):
come up, like in the situationof Keone, where you can't go
back in but you want to be ableto bridge the gap in this way or
they can't directly reach forhow you can actually provide
resources for them.
So it's just another way thatthe odds are stacked against
(13:50):
people of color and anotherreason that we actively need to
be doing this work that we'redoing every day.
So, thank you.
That sounds like a reallycomplicated and frustrating
position to be in.
What are some other likecreative ways that you have gone
about this?
I know you mentioned beforethat you also work in addition
(14:11):
to working with Growing Gardens.
You work with Black FuturesFarm and there's kind of a
relationship there where youkind of bridge the gap.
I don't know if you want toshare a bit about who Black
Futures Farm is or any otherorganizations or any other ways
that you kind of help people ofcolor on the outside like tap in
and reconnect with the earth.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
OK, so that was.
That was a lot of question, soI'm going to try to.
I'm going to try to stay onpoint.
So at Black, so my role, how itdirectly corresponds with Let
Us Grow and Black Futures Iwould say that Black Futures is
like a hub.
That is where I find the peoplethat are looking to have more
(14:54):
African-Americans in theirprogramming, because obviously
at Black Futures we are acommunity nonprofit that works
to reestablish the connectionbetween African-Americans and
the land.
So we get a plethora of peoplethroughout the community that
have jobs in agriculture, thatare working in agriculture, and
(15:16):
that's kind of like my spiderweb.
So I'm constantly like lookingaround, like, oh, what do you do
?
Oh, you're looking for help.
Well, I know this guy that'sreally good with bugs or
so-and-so.
So that's kind of where my workat Black Futures and Let Us
Grow collide.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I love that you called it a spider web.
So you kind of just you knowyou're the connector, you find
those you know those threadsthat really pull the community
together in that way?
Yes, so what would you say now,knowing like on the outside,
this position doesn't look likewhat you expected it to look
like, and you're kind of findingthese creative solutions and
(15:53):
you know, like, regardless ofall of the red tape and all of
the ways that they're trying toprohibit this position from
really like looking like wewanted it to in the first place,
how do you feel about theposition that you have?
Like, what are the results ofthe happy medium that you found?
Do you feel like you knowyou're able to really go out in
the community and make an impactin this capacity for growing
(16:18):
gardens?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
I think for sure.
I get inquiries almost threetimes a week about how I can,
how people can get like involvedand like what they can do, and
it's a constant puzzle of oh Ican send you here, and sometimes
the pieces don't fit Like,sometimes it just doesn't work,
but most of the time, from myexperience, it's like the people
(16:40):
that are looking to do thiswork are genuinely looking for
community not only community,but something that's sustainable
.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely I'm curious what kind
of where do you see or I knowyou mentioned that it could be
upwards of six years before youcan actually be in a facility
you know as an educator Like, doyou have any big projects or
(17:09):
anything kind of that you'rehoping to add to this position
in the future, while you kind ofwait until you can get in and
do that education piece?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So we would really like to maybe have like a for it
.
So, like me, I was not actuallyable to do the whole 21 months
of class in jail.
So just to have like that class, so to have a group of people
that have been released thatwere like, oh well, I couldn't
finish the class, is there a wayto do the class?
That would ideally be until Ican go teach in the prison.
(17:42):
That would be my ideal, ourhopes, but hopefully in the next
, really the greatest hopes ofall will be that my lockout will
be over soon and I will be inprison teaching the seeds to
supper and master gardeners.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I know we have such such anamazing and powerful team of
folks like working together tohelp make that happen, to kind
of offer those classesafterwards for folks who
couldn't finish, because thatjust it gives them something you
know on the outside, somethingto look forward to and something
to do and accomplish and youknow like feel really strong and
(18:20):
good about.
So I think that's like anamazing idea and I really hope
we're able to make that happen.
And overall, keone, I just wantto thank you for taking the time
to be here because this is sucha powerful story for anyone
listening who just feels likethey want to get involved or
they want to do the work but,for whatever reason, their
circumstances prohibit them frommaking it happen.
(18:42):
You know, like maybe theythemselves, anyone listening who
has been previouslyincarcerated that really wants
to do this kind of work, or youknow, whatever life throws in
our way that makes us feel likeyou know, we want to do
something but we can't.
I think this is an amazingexample of how, like there's all
of these different ways that wecan approach a problem and,
(19:04):
especially if you have communityand resources, that we can make
that happen.
So I'm curious from your ownyou know perspective, having
lived this and having kind ofworked into this position the
way that you have, what advicecan you give to any listeners
out there that might be feelinglike they can't?
You know what advice can youshare?
Speaker 2 (19:26):
If you feel like you can't farm or garden or be an
agricultural like force, you'redoing it.
But the minute you have thatfeeling you are accomplishing a
milestone and it's just allabout busting that barrier and
getting to the next.
Oh, I can't do this.
And that's when you know you'rereally farming and gardening
because something changed.
(19:47):
That was supposed to be easy,breezy, beautiful, and it is
going to be beautiful.
You just have to get it to thatpoint.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
I love that.
I love the get to the next.
That's awesome advice.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
And it's farming Like nothing is ever going to be the
same.
The climate is constantlychanging, the regulations are
constantly changing.
The space is constantly gettingsmaller, although we hope it's
getting bigger.
There's hurdles.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
That's such a good call in.
Yeah, even when, you know, evenfor those that feel like
everything's coming up, daisies,and it's all going great, you
know there's always somethingaround the corner that feels
prohibitive, you know.
So just keep going.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Look for, I mean like , look into green stuff there's.
There's things in places whereyou can make a difference in
green voting and making read,read your packages, go to your
legislators and read yourpackages and you will find.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, that advocacy piece, that you know it's so
easy to say, okay, let's get out, and you know garden, get our
hands in the soil.
Yes, let's definitely do that.
But that other piece of thiswork, that like real systemic
change and advocacy, cannot beoverlooked.
So I always wrap up theseinterviews by asking people to
(21:08):
share their most usefulgardening fact or just something
that you absolutely love andadore about nature and our
ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I love that it is constantly changing and that
just goes back to if it's easy,breezy beautiful, it's too easy
to believe, just believe therewill be a bug, there will be
something and it will still bebeautiful yeah, whatever,
whatever it evolves into, I mean, and that's amazing, it makes
(21:40):
me think of like compost, youknow, or just like that process
of you know, finding somethingbeautiful and that degeneration,
and then it really becomes likerich, fertile soils, rich
fertile soil for the next thing.
Because I would never eatanything out of a compost pile.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Not advised, definitely not advised, but yeah
.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Something grown out of a compost pile is the most
beautiful thing in the world.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Absolutely.
Thank you, Keone.
Is there anything else you'dlike to add or anyone you'd like
to shout out before we wrap uphere?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Shout out Rima Green, jason Skipton, black Futures
Farm, malcolm and MirabaiCollins, the Black Food
Sovereignty Coalition andeverybody that plays a part in
this beautiful agriculturalworld that we live in.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Thank you so much and , for anyone listening, you can
find links to those resources inour comments and any person
that was mentioned.
You can find them in ourdirectory at Growing Gardens and
you can reach out to us If youhave any questions.
If you wanna reach out to Keone, if you're someone who's really
interested in local resourcesor just what you could do in
(22:51):
your own community and you'rejust looking for some advice or
you know some feedback on anidea, we are always here for you
at Growing Gardens.
You can go to our websitegrowing-gardensorg and look up
who we are our team, for acomplete team directory there,
or check the show notes fromthis episode.
Keone, it was really greatconnecting with you.
(23:13):
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Thank you so much for your time B.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Absolutely All right, have a good one.
We'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Yep, I'll see you soon.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Thank you for tuning in to the Radical Root podcast
hosted by the 501c3 nonprofitGrowing Gardens.
To learn more about our work orto donate to keep our programs
and services thriving, pleasevisit us at growing-gardensorg.
While you're there, don'tforget to download your free
(23:50):
copy of the radical gardeningresource guide, your
step-by-step action path to agreener future for us all.
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