Yonnette Fleming (born 1968) is an American urban farmer and community earth steward based in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Fleming is part of the environmental movement, her work focusing on urban community gardens and black farmers.[1][2]
Yonnette Fleming | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1968 (age 55–56) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Urban farmer |
| Known for | Food justice |
Early life
editYonnette Fleming was born in Guyana. Her family worked with indigenous communities, growing coconuts, sugar, rice, and other crops.[3][2] She immigrated to New York in 1983 from Georgetown, Guyana.[4]
Career
editYonnette Fleming joined Hattie Carthan Community Garden, located at Marcy and Lafayette in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, in 2003 while working on Wall Street.[3] In 2008, she left her Wall Street job in order to commit to herself to community resilience and food.[3] In 2009, after an "uphill battle" with the city, she established the Hattie Carthan Community Farmer’s Market in a reclaimed lot next to the main garden.[2][5] In 2010, along with Karen Washington, Fleming cofounded Farm School NYC as an educational hub to "teach community members how to create their own localized food systems".[6]
Fleming is currently the vice president of the Hattie Carthan Community Garden and her work addresses food security and food justice concerns.[7][8] She teaches inter-generational workshops including cooking, urban farming, herbalism, and plant medicine while focusing on the needs of the community. Within her workshops, she calls on participants to think on how structures of oppression have impacted their own lives and how to confront them.[9][10]
Fleming is also a member of the Farm School's advisory board where she teaches a food justice course.[11][9][10] In addition to her work as a food advocate, Fleming is an ordained minister, plant and sound medicine practitioner, reiki master, and herbalist.[12][4] Fleming sees farm work "an essential part of healing from the trauma of racism". She cites several students she has taught going on to create action groups in their local schools to discuss food sovereignty.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Top Five Black Farmers, Black Farming is back on the rise!". Bbnomics.com. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ a b c "Bed-Stuy's Hattie Carthan Community Garden · The Natural Farmer". The Natural Farmer. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ a b c Chrisman, Siena (14 May 2015). "How a Former Wall Street Worker Invested in Fresh Food for Her Community". Civil Eats. Archived from the original on 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
- ^ a b Silver, Laura (28 October 2008). "'We're not just building for us, but for those who are coming after'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ Abruzzo, Shavana (2012). "Yonnette Fleming: Green-thumbed foodie makes the human garden grow" (PDF). The Brooklyn Paper. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ Oglesby, Cameron (2023-10-23). "Food justice advocates didn't set out to save the climate. Their solutions are doing it anyway". grist.org. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Hey, Mr. Mayor, Brooklyn's community gardens don't deserve a date with the wrecking ball". BrooklynDaily.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
- ^ Cindy Tucker. "Extension - Southscapes Spring 2011 - News - Alumni & Friends at CAES - UGA". University of Georgia. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
- ^ a b "Yonnette Fleming". Farm School NYC. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Kristin; Cohen, Nevin (2016). Beyond the Kale: Urban Agriculture and Social Justice Activism in New York City. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820349503.
- ^ "Yonnette Fleming". Jfc2016.topi.com.
- ^ "The Urban Bush Educator Project - About Us". Urbanbusheducator.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ Penniman, Leah (2016-05-16). "After a Century In Decline, Black Farmers Are Back And On the Rise". Yes!. Retrieved 2024-06-02.