So Much Land To Be Free In

During the Great Depression, many people fled the drought-stricken region that stretched from Nebraska to the Texas panhandle. The struggles of those who stayed are the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Timothy Egan who follows a half-dozen families and their communities through the dust storms that terrorized America's High Plains during the Depression, going from sod huts to new framed houses to basements with the windows sealed by damp sheets in a futile effort to keep the dust out.

One of the most powerful and thought provoking aspects of "The Worst Hard Time" is the fact that the Midwest has never recovered from the Dust Bowl exodus. Even to this day, farmers in the Midwest going bust. "All across the Grain Belt stand abandoned homesteads, symbols of untold stories of failure, flight from the land, and even suicide." They leave behing land, farm homes, barns, etc...

Perhaps to entice urban-weary Brits, even the BBC did a story on Mid West Farmers Going Bust. But the Reverse Black Migration Movement is not about trying to become prosperous farmers as much as it is getting out of the way of the insanity and ever increasing cultural doom that life in Urban America is for us. Therefore, land with a farm house and out buildings, electricty, and water already on it is a huge gift just waiting for us. I dream of small Intential Communities of like minded black people with vision seeing this opportunity and sizing it.

A common Buddhist quote is: "Everything Changes." Sadly, what is true for the "American Farmer," may be a good thing for black people seeking to join the "Back To The Land" movement. (Click here for Wikipedia’s write up.)

Backwards Migration --South!

From the NPR website:

"The black farmer, working hard for his own, became the living symbol of the strong, independent black man," Williams writes. "Farming also allowed black families to move into other businesses, from funeral homes to preaching to construction, and thus served as the bedrock of all black wealth in America."There is a current "Reverse Migration" going on. Just as large numbers of blacks moved away from the rural South during the 30s, 40s and on into the 60s... so they are returning."

This site is all about getting out of toxic "Urban Centers" (a.k.a. "Cities") and either moving to a rural location alone, with your family, or with a new community you either join or create. Black Solutions will soon add a discussion forum for creating just that. (Amongst other things.)

By now I'm sure you've all read that there is currently a "Black Migration back south" going on. Leading the charge south are college educated blacks lured by large amounts of cheap land, nice roomy houses, and roads that separate you from your neighbors instead of thin walls. The fact that large numbers of blacks remain in the south adds spice to the seduction."Many blacks left not only because of economic opportunities but because of the political and social constraints of segregation," said Charles Ross, historian and interim director of the African-American Studies program at the University of Mississippi. "Those things have changed dramatically in the South."The Brookings Institution reported (May, 2005) that decades of vacating Dixie are reversing. "The New Great Migration", is officially listed as the period between 1965-2000. During the Fatter part of the '90s, the South was the only region in the U.S. that saw an increase in black residents.

African Americans migrated in great numbers away from the rural south during the period between 1910 and 1970. The left for both better living conditions and personal and psycological safety ... you know ... lynching. Now that official Jim Crowe laws have been eliminated and racial terrorism outlawed, blacks are free to hear the call of the original homeland of our ancestors.Personally I'm craving the feel of a used tractor and the smell of an old barn to explore. I want to raise big dogs, wonderfully healthy vegetables, and fresh fruits. I want to feel my muscles firm up from building fences in the hot summer sun.

Urban life is killing us. Plain and simple. People who carry the same cellular memory as their forefathers who walked out of Africa and peopled the earth, are now afraid of a camping trip to their local regional park. I want to trade neighbors who fear they cannot live without drugs and alcohol for wild turkeys cackling in the distance. I want the screech of an eagle to be my morning alarm clock and wonder how my roosters are alright ... instead of worrying about the windows on my parked car.

In the weeks ahead, I'll chronical the many reasons why like many (black, white, brown and yellow) are feeling the urge to move to the country too. Hope you check in with me from time-to-time.