NOC honors Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865 — over 2 years after President Lincoln declared all enslaved persons free — Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas.

As written in the White House's  Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2022, Juneteenth is a "a chance to celebrate human freedom, reflect on the grievous and ongoing legacy of slavery, and rededicate ourselves to rooting out the systemic racism that continues to plague our society as we strive to deliver the full promise of America to every American."

NOC acknowledges that this day should be honored as a “day on, not off”, and we encourage the organic community to always, but on this day particularly, to celebrate the significant contributions of Black farmers and agrarians to the organic and sustainable farming movement (read, if you haven’t already, Leah Penniman’s “Farming While Black”, and learn more about important figures such as Dr. George Washington Carver, Booker T Whatley, and Fannie Lou Harris) and support Black-led organizations (here is a list of “well established Black-led farming organizations” curated by Soul Fire Farm). 

More relevant resources, and an outline of NOC's commitment to building a more equitable organic movement, can be found here: www.nationalorganiccoalition.org/racial-equity