Podcast | Inside the urban farm with a historic mission
Agriculture is a fraught industry for descendants of enslaved people. Yes Farm is working to move beyond that trauma.
Sponsors help make Crosscut’s independent nonprofit journalism possible. However, sponsors have no influence over editorial content. To view Crosscut’s editorial independence policy, visit our advertising definitions page .
Out & Back host Alison Mariella Desir joins tends to the crops at Yes Farm in Seattle. (Sarah Hall)
The relationship between Black people and agriculture in the United States has long been dominated by one obvious and ominous image: Black Americans working the land as enslaved people.
But a different image is being formed at Yes Farm in Seattle’s Yesler Terrace neighborhood. There, between a construction site and the freeway, the Black Farmers Collective is working to change Black people’s relationship with land and farming.
Subscribe to the Out & Back podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon or wherever you listen.
For this episode of the Out & Back podcast, host Alison Mariella Désir tours the farm and speaks with director Ray Williams and farm manager Hannah Wilson about their efforts to promote self-determination and liberation through farming.
Growing food is hard work, they tell us, but it is a skill and a rare opportunity to know exactly where your food comes from.
Before listening, we suggest you watch the episode about Yes Farm here.
