
Welcome to the 7th Annual Black Sustainability Summit
Did you recently join our network? Do you want to learn how to use and access the summit on our exclusive membership platform? Have questions or ideas? JOIN US for this session!!! Did you recently join our network? Do you want to learn how to use and access the summit on our exclusive membership platform? Have questions or ideas? JOIN US for this session!!! Come and test your knowledge during this fun 1-hour quiz that will cover all corners of the globe and highlight common knowledge across sustainability sectors. Come on and free up for a good time! Each of us are at various stages of healing and we know we can't build sustainable communities with broken people. Tomorrow, our team is sponsoring a 3-hour workshop for all members as an intentional investment in our well-being and healing. Make the space to do the work we are inclined to avoid like the plague/Covid...the internal work on our emotional well being. We have the skills, expertise and technical know-how. What we are missing, and what EVERY community-led organization and group needs, are the tools to confront injected oppression. Join us - Invite your family and friends - Intentionally carve out the space for this session on emotional literacy and authenticity. Warriors - Healers - Builders After years of research and training in history, psychology, and education, and after years of clinical experience in the area of personal and leadership development for Black people under the yoke of oppression, Baba Wekesa & Mama Afiya Madzimoyo learned that this three sided triangle (WHB) provides the balance, depth, self correction, and protection against oppressor-injected scripts that misdirect our thoughts, feelings, and actions away from protecting and nurturing our families and our community. WHB is a multi-generational journey of countering these psycho-social scripts and healing and building with and for our people for us to become whole Black men, women, children - families, communities, and people again. The ultimate goal is African sovereignty. Becoming a warrior alone doesn’t heal my wounds; instead I become a wounded warrior. The wounds reveal themselves as alien implants directing me (often against my better judgment) to inflict pain on those that love and trust me. Betrayed, they often feel the pain equal to or greater than that inflicted by the oppressor directly. Becoming a builder alone doesn’t heal me. Instead, I become a wounded builder. The organizations or structures I build often end in the hands of the oppressor, or the process of building re-opens old oppressor-inflicted wounds causing pain, distrust, and dissolution among the very people with whom I’m trying to build. Wounded, as either a warrior or builder, my responses to those who hurt me - even when it is unintentional- are wildly amplified. I either retreat or explode. My retreat and self deprecation deepens and secretly I beg for a rescue of any kind - even delusional ones offered by the oppressor.At other times, my response to the one who touched my wound is swift and painful. My explosive light-saber-like response may serve as a cathartic release saving me from the deep valley of self blame and self deprecation, while at the same time it fools me into thinking that I”m powerfully responding to the enemy – when I am not. Untouched, the real enemy - the one who inflicted the original wounds and those who continue to do so - laughs and grows stronger while the family bleeds and struggles holding to a hope thinner and more illusive than a spider’s web. Becoming a Warrior-Healer-Builder starts with our healing ourselves from the old and new wounds of oppression. Join us on this path...OFFERED FOR ALL MEMBERS OF OUR NETWORK! We promise, we are not trying to make it difficult to get in. Last year, our attendees appreciated this HOW TO ACCESS VIDEO: Join us to open the summit through ancestral reverence. For a participatory experience: 1. Go outside near a plant/tree with a cup of water (no plant? find earth and pour clear spirits), OR 2. Sit near a potted plant with a cup of water 3. Call on personal/elevated ancestors related to THIS type of work we are doing at the summit Join Dr. Ousmane Pame, an expert in Ecovillage design and practice and the founder and president of REDES and Sister Bekkah Marshall aka Eco Savvy Bek Trained Environmental Scientist, Certified Health Professional & Eco & Water Strategist for a powerful panel on water issues, solutions and action you can take. Attendees will walk away from this session learning the following: 1. Real-world water issues & solutions that are impacting Black Communities globally, including Sahel Ecovillage Initiatives 2. Eco learning and eco mentorship/jenoch opportunities with an emphasis on Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering (Water Treatment/ Purification), Environmental Policy, and Environmental Health. 3. How to use water to transform villages & comunities into greener places 4. How fund the construction of wells, and 5. How to use wells to help build a transborder ecovillage hub Join Joe James, who is the founder of Agri-Tech Producers that is passionate about climate change, environmental justice, the creation of new bio-economy jobs, and making Bio-Products. Attendees will walk away from this session learning the following: 1. Learn about how Agri-Tech is implementing, inter-related and patented processes, which cost-effectively combat climate change, by capturing lots of CO2 2. About the promotion of environmental justice and how it can create lots of new bio-economy jobs and Bio-Products, even in poor urban and rural communities of color. Tune in to this panel discussion on the State of Education & Cultural Preservation with: Amandilo Cuzan, a 50 year veteran community organizer, video producer and cultural archivist Taylor Schuler, US-based astrologer and permaculture designer, and David Simon, of the SEADS Education project currently operating in 14 different countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the UK. Leonora Austin, PhD in Business Administration, International Business, formal adjunct graduate business professor, and current high-school teacher focusing on entrepreneurship from an African-centered perspective. Walk away learning: 1. The importance of documenting the work, defining the struggle and collaboration 2. The critical need to build schools for our children immediately and throughout the African continent & how to support the schools 3. How to leverage relationships to partner for sustainable impacts specifically highlighting a presentation of ecosystem restoration in Senegal and the HBCU collaboration. 4. How to run an Afrocentric education and development organisation One of the largest contributors of Black land loss in the USA is heirs property. What is heirs’ property? Tune in to this prerecorded session led by Kanika J.Davis, the National Outreach & Education Specialist from the United States Department of Agriculture. This is a pre-recorded session about the Heirs Property Relending Program. The relending program will provide loan funds to eligible lenders to resolve ownership and succession on farmland with multiple owners. The lenders will give loans to qualified individuals to resolve these ownership issues. Background/Context Heirs Property is land that’s been passed from one generation to the next without a will or other legal document proving ownership. Beyond not being able to build on or develop the land, landowners must have the approval of all relatives before selling or mortgaging it. They’re also shut off from loan access, disaster relief, and other benefits. What’s more, developers can take the land through court-ordered sales. Despite heirs’ property being especially prevalent among Hispanic populations in the Southwest, Indigenous communities out West (where it is termed fractional land), and throughout Appalachia...the phenomenon disproportionately affects African American families throughout the South, accounting for an estimated one-third of all Black-owned land. The Department of Agriculture has called heirs’ property “the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss,” and notes that it led to a 90 percent decline in Black-owned farmland nationwide between 1910 and 1997. Untold numbers of Black Americans became landowners following the Civil War when the government handed over some 20 million acres, mostly in the South, under the Homestead Act. Three years later, Union General William Sherman promised formerly enslaved people “40 acres and a mule.” (President Andrew Johnson rescinded that, though.) By 1920, Black families owned 14 percent of all farmland in the U.S., a figure that’s fallen to less than 2 percent today. Tune in to this panel to learn from: Jessica Lewis of MOBU Enterprises. She is currently operating a business consultancy firm, a finance company for business and real estate, and a green Construction firm. All three help work to solve social issues that help underdogs get ahead through education, mentoring, and training methods not taught in traditional schools. Walk away learning: 1. About sustainable, green development practices from container homes to building design 2. Strategies for simultaneous community development and the Role of Social Capital in enhancing Resilience, and 3. Practical application of green building at home and abroad Tune into this broad panel for a wholistic view of agriculture, current member projects to support and learn what is going on globally with black communities from: (EUROPE) Michael David, a climate advocate, climate leader, author, founder of GIFSEP (Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation), and agriculture and environmental management expert. (JAMAICA) Adrian Watson, a Beekeeping, Biodiversity Conservation and Youth Development expert and currently pursuing a Master of Science in Conservation and Land Management at Bangor University in Wales. (EUROPE) Obie Pearl of May Project Gardens. Obie presents Natural City Living A Community Led Urban Retreat. May Project Gardens CIC based in Morden is transforming into an Urban Retreat and as a prelude they are launching the 'Natural City Living’ a Summer/ Autumn project series of events and activities that supports people to take a break, detox or recharge and contribute to becoming part of shaping this vision. Walk away with the following wisdom: 1. Insight into starting up a grass roots project, challenges and opportunities 2. How to grow food sustainably and not have a lot of space 3. How to start a Farming Business and not grow any food 4. How to generate a better profit from creating added value products, and 5. How to successfully leverage partnerships Hear from Russell Bean, an expert resource specialist and award-winning farm expert. Walk away learning: 1. The benefits of business planning 2. Knowledge of how to utilize a risk management checklist 3. The steps to fulfilling farm goals Tune in to this panel to learn from the following champions in community development at various stages, applying unique approaches: Tannur Ali, co-founder of iLOGIC and the iLOGIC Homestead Incubation Program at Solomon’s Garden and homestead and land stewardship training expert. Cashawn Myers, founding member of HABESHA, Inc. (Helping Africa By Establishing Schools at Home and Abroad), sustainable development expert, and developer of the Kweku Andoh Sustainability Institute (KASI) in Ghana. Walk away learning: Hear from Dr. Afia Zakiya who is African centered Political Ecologist, Africana Studies scholar-activist, International Affairs, and Public Policy, Health, and Organizational Development expert and Clark Arrington, a pragmatic visionary, who used his legal training to address capital formation for worker cooperatives. From developing bylaws that established capital accounts to pioneering preferred stock that maintained democratic control, Arrington has had a foundational influence on worker cooperatives. Walk away learning: 1. About the environmental problems of Africa Town, 2. The history and significance of Africa Town, and 3. The models of Maroon Resistance in Free Black Towns and Settlements after the Civil War. Tune in to this panel to learn from three powerhouses in sustainable agriculture: Tenisio Seanima, who is the owner of Nature's Candy Farms, Urban Agriculture Manager for East Point, GA, and Urban Farming and Local-food-system planning expert. Eugene Cook, who is a farmer designer, food producer, and content creator that is passionate about assisting to incubate food system entrepreneurs and train new growers. An internationally recognized food justice activist and urban farmer utilizing exclusively veganic growing methods. With his wife, he founded Grow Where You Are. Charles Greenlea, who is the founder of ECO-PARADIGM, LLC and agricultural board chair of Black Sustainability, Inc., specializes in helping people, farmers and communities grow by providing a variety of agricultural services that are economically viable and ecologically sound across the state of Georgia. He believes healthy communities are those that mirror natural processes and conserve and protect natural resources. ECO-PARADIGM is about tapping into the inherent value of the Earth itself. Walk away learning: Conversations and reflections from the day from all attendees & presenters. Moving from concept to action & exploring how BSI can continue to support their work. Conversations and reflections from the day from all attendees & presenters. Moving from concept to action & exploring how BSI can continue to support their work. Mighty & petite, warrior jegna and traditional midwife, Basu Nana Dr. Siti Opio made her transition this August 2022. We are holding space for her legacy and works during this timeframe to celebrate and lift her up. Join to learn about her contribution during her time on this physical plane and help lift her up in the spiritual realm as we honor her life. See her past presentations on our YouTube channel. See her here with us at the inception of the inaugural Black Sustainability Summit in 2016! THROW BACK!!! Tune in to this presentation to learn from Nadir Sherrod, a student at Prescott College in their Masters of Resilient and Sustainable Communities program. Hear his take on Academia, Artistic Connection, and International relations from the perspective of the next generation. Walk away learning: Building community in North America? Tune in to learn from Ashley Scott, co-founder and Chief of Communication of The Freedom Georgia Initiative. This sister (and her team) is passionate about helping multiple Black farmers and collectives to purchase large acreages of land for sustainable development and intentional Black communities. Walk away learning: Hear from this panel and learn from: Adam Powers, who is a founder of the nonprofit organization Key Tech Labs and the independent virtual production company Key Studios. Cosco Jones, owner of Jones Sustainable Solutions Group is a sustainable lifestyle consulting and coaching company specializing in residential energy efficiency. I conduct inspections and assessments on homes and light commercial properties from an energy and building performance perspective. Walk away learning: Tune in to learn from: Dr. Erica Holloman-Hill, CEO and Environmental Consultant with Ayika Solutions, Inc., Former Coalition and Project Coordinator of Southeast CARE Coalition and The Ascension Project. John Moore, development director for residential projects at Primestor. Join this session to learn more about: 1. Environmental and climate justice work and resources in Black communities 2. Identifying and accessing resources available to continue this work 3. How to build sustainable affordable housing, and 4. How to finance renewable energy. How to structure deals Tune in to this panel discussion on Waste, Waste Production & Management with: Gyamfuah Sarfo-Mensah, who is a PhD candidate in the University of Chicago’s Comparative Human Development program and is researching the electronic waste (e-waste) phenomenon in Ghana as a pathway to explore environmental racism. Tanita Gray, who is a footwear designer and developer that is passionate about the progression of shoes as they can be a part of the sustainability movement. Walk away learning: Hear from T'arie Todman, farm expert with Winston County Self Help Cooperative. She provides technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and, landowners, to develop plans on how to enhance their current operations to ensure one can keep their legacy. Walk away learning: 1. About the Black Century Landowners Recognition Program, created to celebrate centurion landowners 2. How to apply to be a part of the program. Tune in to this session to hear from: Tashel Martin, of Mama Isis Farm and Market is a Fourth Generation Farmer and Urban Agriculturalist. Tune in to learn how: 1. You can grow food sustainably and not have a lot of space Hear from Dr. Claire Nelson, a Chief Ideation Leader of The Futures Forum and a research and education practice expert that specializes in bringing the power of strategic foresight, and the discipline of sustainability engineering Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo, a cooperative activist and housing and worker cooperatives, solidarity economics, health & nutrition expert. Abiodun Henderson, Abiodun Henderson is founder of Gangstas 2 Growers, a social enterprise designed to empower at-risk and formerly incarcerated youth through agriculture, employment, and entrepreneurship. Executive Director of The Come Up Project & Sweet Sol Coop. She and her team are investing in our youth and their future through education and cooperative development. Walk away learning: 1. About SMART Futures Framework for Sustainable Design 2. The importance of internal development and the urgent need for everyone to express their "greatness" individually through health and energy. 3. How to develop a coop, the challenges and benefits Tune into this panel to learn from: "TJ" Loftin, who is an Award-Winning International Speaker, Best-Selling Author, Land Developer, Real Estate, and Business Coach. and Adrienne Rice, the Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Georgia Futures, a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to creating green economy pathways for people of color. 1. Importance of Land Ownership, the how-tos of buying land, the realm of new construction, and entrepreneurship, 2. Why we should learn new construction, and 3. Green economy pathways Iya Abiye Mawusi Ashshakir of The Mothership Institute of Wombwellness is a traditional Midwife and a traditional naturopathic physician. A student of Basu Dr. Nana Siti Opio she calls all of us become conscious of the way we birth as it is a part of our cultural ASILI. Walk away learning: All organizers, attendees & presenters seal up.Schedule
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
(PRE SUMMIT) NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
(PRE SUMMIT) NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Thursday, September 29, 2022
(PRE SUMMIT) INDUSTRY HOUSE MIXER
This is a team event, so we warmly invite you to make a team with your colleagues/other members to represent your region and showcase your skills and knowledge of sustainability.
No team, no problem! We will find you teammates!
Digital gift cards/cash to win this time and the pride of the eternal recognition from your peers, the pleasure of testing your knowledge, and networking with fellow practitioners.
Friday, September 30, 2022
(PRE SUMMIT) WHB TRAINING
Until you complete this training, you will not be endorsed/recommended to do business with others in our network. We need shared language for healthy relationships and partnerships to succeed!! Come and grow!
Saturday, October 1, 2022
HOW DO I ACCESS THE SUMMIT??!!??
WELCOME & LIBATIONS
PANEL SESSION 1: Water
Climate Tech Co-Founder Opportunities in the African Diaspora
PANEL SESSION 2: Education & Cultural Preservation
(Pre-recorded) SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Heirs Property
PANEL SESSION 3: Eco-Building
PANEL SESSION 4: Sustainable Agriculture (Session 1)
WORKSHOP: Benefits Of Business Planning, Utilizing A Risk Management Checklist, Steps To Fulfilling Farm Goals
PANEL SESSION 5: Sustainable Community Development
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
PANEL SESSION 6: Sustainable Agriculture (Session 2)
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
Sunday, October 2, 2022
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
HONORING BASU DR. NANA SITI OPIO
PANEL SESSION 1: Black & Green Scholars Panel
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Freedom GA Community Development
PANEL SESSION 2: Alternative/Renewable Energy
PANEL SESSION 3: Leveraging Resources within Environmental & Climate Justice (Technical, Financial & Web3.0)
PANEL SESSION 4: Waste, Waste Production & Management - Viable Approaches
WORKSHOP: Black Century Landowners' Recognition Program
SUSTAINABLE AG: Homesteading
2. You can start a Farming Business and not grow any food
3. You generate a better profit from creating added value products
4. You can do it all and be a jack of all trades instead of a master one
5. Partnership/Collaborations makes business much easier. PANEL SESSION 9 - Alternative Economics
Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo
Grassroots Economic Organizing; Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community Cooperative
PANEL SESSION 6: Economic Effects of Gentrification & Green Entrepreneurship Opportunities
Walk away learning:SESSION 8: BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH IS WHOLISTIC HEALTH-Healing Trauma Through Tradition
ROUNDTABLE WRAP UP
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