Activism Log

I am very happy with how this project is going. Our global class was able to raise $400 and 30 plus gardening tools. Not to mention that our attendance was a lot higher than what we originally expected. At one point, I counted 62 people from our class, the FWAF and members of the Fellsmere community. I feel that this was one of the most rewarding and challenging projects I have ever been a part of. Our class had a lot of bumps in the road and I feel like as a whole we have grown and our leadership has strengthened. I also feel that coupled with the readings, the interactions we have had with the Fellsmere community, especially Yolanda, Daniel and Christina has really helped us grow as human beings. Towards the beginning of the project we kept theorizing and making assumption left and right, but I oddly feel that this was part of the point in our activism, to learn and grow from our mistakes; to participate in productive conversations. It was amazing to hear my classmates introduce themselves in Spanish and make the effort to communicate with the people in Fellsmere. It was awesome to play soccer with the kids and sit down to have a meal with Yolanda. I always get taken aback with how kind and amazing the people in Fellsmere are, I had an awesome realization when I was there, I realized that part of the reason my heart was with this community was because I feel I am at home when I’m there. My mom and dad, and most of my brothers and sisters are 4 states away, and being around people who speak my language and eat my ‘kind’ of food makes me feel less homesick. I always learn something when I go to the garden, this time Daniel taught me how to know when a carrot was ready to be picked. It makes me think back to Mohanty’s notion of home and family, and I honestly feel that Fellsmere is one of the many homes I know.

I fell that this project relates most to Minh-ha. I keep coming back to this text because I feel that these readings have been the ones that have impacted me the most. I feel that not only was it important to value and hear Yolanda’s story, but for me, I learned the importance of hearing my classmate’s story. They too have something to say and experiences to share. This was something that Yolanda and Daniel state at the beginning of each gardening day. They always stress the importance of learning from one another. This is the only way we can grow and build relationships that encourage and fuel our passion for social change. It is until we have this reciprocal relationship that we finally see each other as human beings, worth fighting for and worth listening to. I feel that this project was successful at allowing this class to learn from a community that they would have had no contact to, other than this project and I truly hope that they do not take the bonds they have made for granted. I hope to see them at future garden events, and actions that the Fellsmere community invites us to, and I hope we all think of communities like these, especially women like Yolanda every time we sit down at the table and eat.

Minh-ha, Trinh T. “Women Native Other.” Indiana: Indianapolis, 1989. Print