Event
From the Bay Area to Port-au-Prince: Creating Food Sovereignty in Haiti
Keynote speaker Pierre La Boissiere, a Haitian and longtime activist with the Haiti Action Committee, will clarify the current political and social situation followed by presentations focused on how issues of Food Justice and Food Sovereignty are working out on the ground in Haiti in relation to international aid and the impacts of the earthquake. Featured speakers include Eric Holt-Giménez, executive director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy and Nikki Henderson, executive director of the People's Grocery. Plus, a performance by Tacuma King & Bay Area Youth Arts and other speakers to be announced.
This event is part of the Solidarity with the People of Haiti Series cosponsored by the Ecology Center, People's Grocery, Haiti Action Committee, Planting Justice, and KPFA (Hard Knock Radio).
Since the devastating earthquake in January of this year there has been an outpouring of international humanitarian donations, yet much of it has never reached the Haitian people nor has it been used in ways that will be of ongoing sustained support to Haitians. This event has been organized to both benefit organizations directly helping the Haitian people through HERF and to help people in the Bay Area understand what's really going on in Haiti. Our knowledgeable roster of speakers:
· Pierre La Boissiere arrived in New York City in 1970 at the age of 14 and lived there until 1982. During this period, he joined mobilization activities against Haitian dictator Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier including the struggle for political asylum for Haitian refugees arriving in the US. He is the Co-Founder of the Haiti Action Committee (HAC) and of the Bay Area Haitian-American Council (BAHACO), and Co-Founder and board member of Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (HERF). He has worked to support the Haitian struggle for democracy, fostered connections between grassroots movements in Haiti and the progressive community in the US, linked with journalists who want to hear an alternative viewpoint of Haiti, and in helping Haitian organizations working to rebuild since the quake.
· Eric Holt-Giménez is not only the director of Food First, he is the author of the 2009 Food First Book Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice and Campesino a Campesino: Voices from Latin America's Farmer to Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture which chronicles the development of this movement in Mexico and Central America over two and a half decades.
· Nikki Henderson is Executive Director of People's Grocery in West Oakland. Under Nikki's leadership, People's Grocery has launched a strategic campaign strongly focusing on: revitalizing the economy of West Oakland through all aspects of the food system, from production to distribution, and leveraging the power of local nutrition education and major health institutions to reduce obesity, diabetes, and other major health ailments in West Oakland. Before People's Grocery, Nikki worked closely with Van Jones and Phaedra Ellis Lamkins at Green for All, fighting for a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. She also worked for Slow Food USA, in Brooklyn, NY where President Josh Viertel came to regard her as an "extraordinary leader with a vision for how food and urban farming can be tools of empowerment".
· Tacuma King is a master percussionist and teacher who has worked with many artists including the San Francisco Symphony, Young Audiences, the Sun Ra Archestra, Cross Pulse, Shaka Zulu, Bantaba Dance Ensemble, and his musical mentor Moshe Milon. He will be appearing with some of the students he teaches drumming, dance, and song.
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LocationHumanist Hall
390 27th St.
Oakland, CA 94612
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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