Afrofuturism and Agriculture

 Hannah Huddleston

Dr. Jaleesa Harris

ENGL2016- 44378

11 November 2024

Afrofuturism and Agriculture

Afrofuturism and Agriculture. What do you know about them? Let me tell you what I know about these two terms separately. Agriculture is the science of cultivating, producing, and raising livestock for food. In common terms, it is called “Farming.” Farming is the most important concept/activity that is done and educated on because it is the reason we are living. Afrofuturism is a concept that uses science fiction to reimagine or enhance a future or the past for African Americans. The idea holds importance in many avenues such as music, art, film, fashion, architecture, etc.… In this instance the avenue that will be dissected and discussed is agriculture and how it is Afrofuturistic. This paper will be like reading a timeline. We will first talk about Afrofuturism; the different definitions along with examples of it in different texts along with the different elements that will relate to Agriculture such as Black Liberation, African Diaspora, and Black Identity. Then we will travel to Africa through the lens of history to talk about how the African diaspora built the foundation for the idea of farming and agriculture in America for African Americans. After, we will come back to America and end the paper with learning about the start of Black Independent Farming and the role the Freedman’s Bureau and USDA had in creating a future where it was possible for African Americans to have a successful economic future. 

This past semester, Afrofuturism has been the main topic of the course. We have discussed various definitions of Afrofuturism, going back to when Mark Dery first coined the term to the recently updated version. The 1993 version of the definition uses speculative fiction to enhance or reimagine a future for African- Americans in the twentieth century. The novel “Wild Seed” by Octavia Butler is a perfect example of the 1993 version of Afrofuturism. (Butler) Since the novel was published in 1980, it predates the term and is one of the novels that helped define Afrofuturism. “Wild Seed” holds elements of Afrofuturism by using science fiction to reimagine the slave trade and life on a plantation. The recently updated version has the same structure as the original definition but has expanded to include more concepts like gender and sexuality instead of just race. For example, the short story “Can You Wear My Eyes” by Kalamu ya Salaam is set in the point of view of a woman, but her race is not disclosed. (Salaam) As has been discussed, Afrofuturism holds significance in many forms such as Art, Film, Music, Fashion, Architecture etc.…. In this paper the form that will be delved into is Agriculture. When you first think about agriculture, you are probably thinking “How is that Afrofuturistic?” but when you associate the term’s Black identity and Liberation with Agriculture, you start to see the connections made between them. 

   African American Farming started in the United States but some of the styles and the crops that are seen today originate in Africa. “The ancestral heritage of African American homelands are rooted in West-Central Africa, Bight of Benin, the Gold Coast, the Windward Coast, Senegambia, Southeast Africa, and Madagascar which geographically and culturally encompass histories of Sahelian, South Saharan, and East African life worlds.” (Dean) Some examples of styles and crops that derive from Africa are growing rice and Palm Oil. While rice did not originate in West Africa, it is the continent that migrated the crop to America during the Atlantic slave trade. Colonies in America tried to grow rice but were unsuccessful so they made rice plantations so African slaves could grow it for their enslavers. “Rice growing was a particularly complex form of agriculture, and that’s why planters needed people from that part of Africa”, says Opala” (Tibbets).This ties into Afrofuturism because of the innovation that was made to cultivate rice. West Africans used hollowed-out palm trees that acted as water control pipes that could be plugged or unplugged as needed (Tibbets, Carolina's Gold Coast: The Culture of Rice and Slavery). This invention was ahead of its time and provided evidence that Africans were innovative and futuristic during that time period. 

 Palm oil is another staple in most American households and American food such as Ice cream, pizza, and chocolate. It is from the periods of Punpun and Kintampo located in central Ghana. “The palm oil has been described as “probably the most useful tree in Africa” (Irvine 1961: 777) The most commonly cited product is cooking oil, but there are several other historically known uses for the palm, including medicinal, construction, and substantial functions” (D' Andrea, Logan and Watson).These two crops and the farming styles that come with them are Afrofuturistic because Africa was cultivating rice and palm oil for centuries before it came to America and the cultivation was futuristic in the tools that they used. 

    During the Atlantic slave trade, Africans were sent over to the Americas as slaves to farm and work on plantations. During Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Era is when we see newly freed Africans and African Americans starting to farm for their own economic gain instead of doing it for an employer. The Reconstruction era is when we see Black farmers beginning to work for economic gain with the sharecropping system. “The sharecropping system provided landowners with labor without spending much cash, and it gave freedmen and poor, landless whites a way to make a living” (Jones). After the Reconstruction Era, the Civil Rights Era started and that’s where we start to see an influx of Black Independent Farming. “An individual who makes farm-operating decisions that have variable risk and reward” (Reynolds). Black Independent Farming helped African Americans control their future and identity along with the help of the Freedman’s Bureau. The Bureau was a federal agency that supported African- Americans and poor white people during the Civil Rights Era. The agency was responsible for helping create an education system for African- Americans, “terms under which some planters and black farm operators would develop effective working relationships,” and to help establish black farmers with wanting to have separate lodgings for the farmer and their families as opposed to how it used to be when there was sharecropping and slavery (Reynolds).

 Talking about Black Independent Farming, you can’t help but associate the term “Black Liberation.”  Black Liberation is defined as a movement that was made to achieve balance and self -determination for African Americans. Along with the Freedmen’s Bureau, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) played a part in helping progress the success of Black Independent Farming in turn prospering Black Liberation. A sub-department within the USDA that was especially helpful was the Rural Development Programs (RBS) “RBS’ 1890 Land Grant Program builds capacity within historically black universities to provide business advisory services to minority, small and disadvantaged farmers and rural residents”(Reynolds). Not only did the development programs provide grants for Black farmers but it also provides programs to Black farmers that allow them to be assisted in developing their business for a boost in economic value.

In Conclusion, Afrofuturism and Agriculture are very much connected in ways that are obvious at face value and others that aren’t. Agriculture in the African Diaspora is Afrofuturistic because it is the start of some of the crops, palm oil and rice, which are staples in today’s farms along with the innovations that were used to cultivate these crops. For example, in the paper, we talked about how West Africans would hollow out palm trees to make water control pipes to grow rice. This way of farming is still used in today’s farming world and is still called the same as it was when it was invented back in the day; “trunks.” Black Independent Farming is Afrofuturistic because it was the beginning of the idea that African Americans had a rightful place in this world and had the opportunity to have a successful future that they dreamed and worked so hard for. The Freedmen’s Bureau and USDA were helpful steps on the ladder to success in the farming world because of the programs and the grant that were built in honor of Black agriculture students and farmers. Once again, Afrofuturism and Agriculture are closely related, and the connection will only grow closer as the future happens.

Works Cited

Butler, Octavia E. Wild Seed. New York: Grand Central Publishing , 1980. Book.

D' Andrea, A. Catherine, Amanda L. Logan and Derek J. Watson. "Oil Palm and Prehistoric Subsstence in Tropical West Africa ." Journal of African Archeology (2006): 195-222. Web.

Dean, Micheal. Journey of a Seed : Agarian Lifeways of the African Diaspora and Addressing the African American Farming Crisis Through Culture and Community. Thesis. Fullerton: California State University, 2024. Document.

Jones, Terry L. "Reconstruction." Jones, Terry L. The Louisiana Journey. Gibbs Smith, 2006. Document.

Reynolds, Bruce J. Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000 The Pursuit of Indepnedent Farming and the Role of Cooperatives. RBS Research Report 194. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture , 2002. Document.

Salaam, Kalamu ya. "Can You Wear My Eyes." Thomas, Sheree R. Dark Matter. New York: Warner Books Inc., 2000. 86-90. Book.

Tibbets, John H. " African roots, Carolina gold." Coastal Heritage 2006: 1-14. Web.

—. "Carolina's Gold Coast: The Culture of Rice and Slavery." Coastal Heritage 2014: 10. Web.