Anti-Racism and
Farmers Markets
OFMA’s Anti-Racism Work
Farmers markets are part of an agricultural system based in a history of racism and oppression.
In order to achieve our mission — to support local agriculture and healthy communities by strengthening and promoting Oregon’s farmers markets— OFMA aims to support equity for all communities by focusing on racial justice.
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The intention of this statement is to guide OFMA decisions, actions, advocacy and allocation of resources as we work toward becoming an anti-racist organization.
Farmers markets are part of an agricultural system based in a history of racism and oppression, from the theft of Indigenous land by white European colonizers, to centuries of stolen labor through the enslavement of African people, and continued exploitation of Indigenous and Latinx farmworkers and workers of color across the food system.
Oregon’s history of exclusion and racism in land access, agricultural loans, housing policy, immigration, and other systems has led to disparities in wealth, income and opportunity. As a result, many farmers markets in Oregon are majority-white spaces and have not traditionally served Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in our communities. Lack of representation and white-dominant culture can exclude both vendors and shoppers of color.
OFMA aspires for farmers markets to be supportive, welcoming and inclusive spaces for all of Oregon’s community members.
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OFMA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is a group of volunteers supporting our association with realizing the anti-racism goals outlined in our DEI Statement.
This support includes recommendations for tools and resources for markets, assessing OFMA’s organizational policies and practices, and expanding the organization’s approach to addressing agricultural inequities like land access and labor rights.
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In July 2019 the OFMA board of directors wanted to infuse its decision-making with a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens and created this committee to hold itself accountable towards this value.
Learn more about the committee’s current goals and see the application here.
Webinars + Toolkits
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In 2024, OFMA celebrated Native American Heritage Month by partnering with two Indigenous community members, S.A. Lawrence-Welch (Nêhiýaw & Métis) and Vawn Jason Borges (Kānaka Maoli). with the launch of the Native Knowledge Sharing Toolkit, a resource to encourage markets to ask questions and reflect on their own experiences, while learning some hard truths about this land, and its people.
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This workshop was presented for OFMA by Allinee "shiny" Flanary, Market Manager at Portland’s
Come Thru Market. -
shiny has also put together a comprehensive toolkit for Market Managers detailing how to make markets more welcoming and inclusive spaces for BIPOC shoppers and vendors, and transform them into incubators for social change.
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In 2022, AORTA presented an updated series covering anti-racism and white supremacy culture at farmers markets .
Pt. 1: Uprooting White Supremacy and Building Equity: workshop recording and slides
Pt. 2: What Conflict and Feedback Have to Do With White Supremacy: workshop recording and slides
A 2021 three part workshop series presented by Sunny Dakota Spencer, Worker-Owner & Trainer at AORTA.
Pt. 1: Uprooting White Supremacy in Farmers Market Organizations: workshop recording
Pt. 2: Interrupting White Supremacy Every Day: workshop recording and slides
Pt. 3: Building Equitable Farmers Markets: workshop recording and slides
AORTA’s racial justice assessment tool for farmers market managers.
Kenneth Jones' and Tema Okun's work on the characteristics of white supremacy culture.
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In 2022, the FMC released a toolkit aimed at helping farmers market managers make progress toward becoming anti-racist managers of anti-racist markets.
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OFMA and Amy Herzfeld-Copple of Western States Center presented organizing tools for combating white supremacist activities at farmers markets and other public places at OSU’s Small Farms Conference in 2020.
More Resources And Readings
Included in this list are articles, reports, and tactics that will help recognize and address racism as well as provide tools to help dismantle it.
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US Food System Timeline compiled by Tracy Gagnon, Oregon Food Bank, documents the history exploitation of land and food workers in the U.S. and Oregon and highlights examples of resistance from communities of color.
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“4 Not-So-Easy Ways to Dismantle Racism in the Food System” by Leah Penniman, Yes Magazine.
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Dismantling Anti-Black Bias in Democratic Workplacesis a toolkit from AORTA to equip workplaces with tools to see and address anti-Black racism when it happens and create systems and practices that undermine anti-Black racism.
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Building the Case for Racial Equity in the Food System is a report from Center for Social Inclusion that shares an analysis of what it means to build a racially equitable food system—from field to farm to fork—and lays out steps toward achieving that goal.
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“White Supremacy Culture” is a description of characteristics and norms found in white-dominant organizations and their antidotes. By Tema Okun, Dismantling Racism.
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“The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America” by Alana Semuels, The Atlantic
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A Hidden History: OR Black History Timeline is a timeline of the stories and struggles of Oregon’s African American community. By Walidah Imarisha, Oregon Humanities Conversation Project
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“The Ongoing Impact of Racism on the U.S. Farming Landscape” despite some progress in diversity and racial justice in the US, as a whole, a professor argues that farming remains deeply segregated. By Megan Horst, Civil Eats
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“White People Own 98% of Rural Land. Young Black Farmers Want to Reclaim Their Share” by Tom Phillpott, Mother Jones
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“Black People's Land Was Stolen” and any discussion of reparations must include how this happened, who did it, and the laws, policies and practices that allowed it. By Andrew W. Kahrl, New York Times
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“There Were Nearly a Million Black Farmers in 1920. Why Have They Disappeared?” by Summer Sewell, The Guardian