The Farmland

As climate change progresses, more people will be forced from their homes and into exploitative environments. In the United States, this is particularly true of farmworkers.

The climate crisis is, undeniably, a labor issue too.

“like you i woke up in the dark. but i was reaching for animals, trying to beat the heat. like you sunrise usually found me in the middle of doing something. i didn’t call it prayer, but i did believe that if i did it every day we would exist.”

In today’s episode, we hear the poet Alexis Pauline Gumbs read from her book, “DUB”, as she unlearns the separation between her work and that of her great-grandfather’s. She shows us how poetry can help us imagine another way of relating to life on earth. 

We then travel to the agricultural fields of Immokalee, Florida. where Lupe Gonzalo is a senior staff member at the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. She tells us about her experience working tomato fields,  the work she does now fighting for farmworker rights, and the need to unlearn the systems of separation between land, food, and people. 

Take Action:

• Find more of Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ work at alexispauline.com
• To learn more about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers go to ciw-online.org
• Follow them on twitter @ciw to learn about upcoming marches and boycotts and take part.

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