Harvest of Dignity: Film, Live Music, Trivia for Farmworkers

Join the Farmworker Advocacy Network for a night of live music, theme trivia, and the public tv debut of an award-winning documentary about North Carolina farmworkers. 

Thursday, Aug. 16, 7pm-11pm
Fullsteam Brewery
726 Rigsbee Ave., Durham NC

Click here for more info.

In 1960, legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow brought the plight of the migrant farmworker into the consciousness of many Americans through his shocking “Harvest of Shame” documentary that aired on CBS primetime. Fifty years later, Minnow Media (http://www.minnowmedia.net/) produced “Harvest of Dignity,” a half-hour program that reveals many of the same social, health and labor injustices faced by those working in the U.S. agricultural system today.

Filmed in North Carolina, the new award-winning documentary combines interviews with area farmworkers, advocates, faith leaders and educators, documentary photos, and interviews collected by Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF). It was commissioned by SAF and funded by the North Carolina Arts Council, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and Oxfam America. “Harvest of Dignity” makes its debut on public television (UNC-TV) on August 16th. 

Two local bands--Bluegrass band Down River (www.reverbnation.com/downriverbluegrass) and Americana/Folk-Rock outfit Mary Johnson Rockers and the Spark(www.reverbnation.com/maryjohnsonrockers) will kick off the event at 7pm. Trivia will start at 9 followed by the documentary broadcast at 10. Come on over if you’re a trivia regular and are up for a challenge on a new topic, are a fan of homegrown music and locally-brewed beer, or simply if you want to know more about agricultural and poultry workers in North Carolina and ways to get involved in a campaign fighting for safe places for them to work and live, and stronger enforcement of existing laws designed to protect the people that bring the vast majority of our food to our tables.

Harvest of Dignity in Western North Carolina

By Nathan Dollar, Vecinos Inc. 

In Western North Carolina we are intensifying our efforts to raise awareness and get folks involved in issues that affect farmworkers.  In February of this year we held a screening of Harvest of Dignity on the campus of Western Carolina University followed by a discussion on farm labor in our communities. The event was successful with a concerned and enthusiastic crowd of over 100 people in attendance.  This gave us the idea to begin forming an organization based out of WCU focused on farmworker issues – The Western Carolina Coalition for Farmworkers.  While based out of the university it is our vision that this organization be of and for the broader WNC community. 

Here in WNC we have strong communities and we take care of one another.  Building on this strength, it is our goal to foster inclusion and full participation of farmworkers in our communities.  Every member of our community deserves a safe place to work and live.  We hope that together we can make this happen.  The Western Carolina Coalition for Farmworkers is being organized by Vecinos Inc. Farmworker Health Program, Student Action with Farmworkers, WCU students and faculty,  and other community members.  We will be holding another event in September with the date TBA.  If you are interested in learning more and getting more involved, please contact Emily Williams or Osiel Gonzalez Alanis.

Thank you for showing love for farmworkers this past Valentines Day

If you sent a heartfelt valentine to NC Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry this past Valentines Day asking her to get serious about protecting farmworkers and their families, then by now you've probably received a disappointing form letter in response...that you've likely seen before. In February, farmworker supporters across the state rallied to show their passion for workers' rights (and demonstrate artistic talent!) by mailing in nearly 100 special valentines to the commissioner, calling on her to 'stop breaking hearts" and enforce the laws in place to protect some our state's most vulnerable residents from hazardous, and sometimes fatal, living and working conditions.

 

Unfortunately, the department's response to our action was to send an identical copy of the form letter they mailed to those who participated in FAN's Christmas card action in December last year. We feel that farmworkers deserve more. Stay tuned for more opportunities to stay involved.

 

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Celebrations

Tuesday, November 1
6:00pm - 9:00pm

Dos Taquitos Centro
106 S. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601 

Please join us to honor and celebrate the lives of farmworkers and farmworker children who have died while working in the fields.

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday and celebration that takes place on November 1st and 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints day and All Souls’ Day.

Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Info, RSVP, comment on Facebook here.

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If you cannot make it to the party in Raleigh, we'd like to invite you to host your own Día de los Muertos celebration at your home, church, or community center. Please let us know if you're hosting a party and we'll help make sure you have everything you need to make it a success.

Here's a packet with ideas for how to make this work:

Host a Day of the Dead Celebration
North Carolina Farmworker Obituaries

Foodies and farmworkers

In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser explains “Why being a foodie isn’t ‘elitist.’” 

In short, he says:

A food system based on poverty and exploitation will never be sustainable.

To see the “poverty and exploitation” on which our current system is based, we don’t have to look any farther than the farmworkers who make agriculture possible.  In North Carolina, half of farmworker families face food insecurity at some point during the year.  Annual incomes for farmworkers average less than $12,000.  Most farmworkers are exempt from minimum wage laws, and all are exempt from overtime provisions, despite long work days during peak harvest.

How much exploitation went into this salad?Schlosser argues that large agribusinesses “don’t want people to think about what they’re eating. The survival of the current food system depends upon widespread ignorance of how it really operates.”  One of the crucial cogs in this industrial machine is the backbreaking human labor required to hand-pick 85% of the fruits and vegetables we eat.  But if we are going to be honest with ourselves, if we are going to move towards a truly sustainable food system, it’s time to make changes in the way we treat field and poultry workers.

It’s time for farmworkers to reap a harvest of dignity instead of exploitation and abuse.  It’s time for poultry workers to have safe working environments.  No one should have to risk his or her health or future for a job. 

Schlosser’s article is a reminder that this topic is never popular.  It’s always easier to ignore the difficult questions than to raise them. 

Now you have been warned: you might be called an “elitist” if you ask who picked your food or if you include farmworkers in your table prayers.  But we can’t afford to ignore this reality any longer – our current food system remains unsustainable because it is based on poverty and the exploitation of the workers who reap our harvests.

You can make a difference - click here to get involved with the Harvest of Dignity campaign.