To Begin Again

so we begin with centering in and reflecting on our place in the broken system of racism in America.

GFJ is two White women founders with two White women employees doing the daily work of administration and social media. We hire freelance writers, photographers, and videographers to tell GFJ Stories, and we are grateful to Nicole Taylor, Foodculturist and cookbook author, for calling on us, back in 2012, to consciously and effortfully seek talent from Black storytellers and other people of color.

But the steps we've taken thus far have not been enough. We continue our education and our actions, along with the millions of other people that have pledged to do so, in the hopes that consistent, everyday work can help to make the necessary structural change. Okay. So. How are we doing that?

GFJ was founded on the twin values of sustainability and food culture. We are consistently challenged on what sustainability means. In the beginning, we focused on sustainable food, but sustainability does not exist in one arena unless it exists all around. It's great if a food business supports small farms or grows organic produce - but does it also do energy audits? Does it provide a livable wage to all of its employees? Is the enterprise fiscally responsible? It is impossible to separate the values of Anti-racism from sustainability, a principle called Intersectional Environmentalism, beautifully illuminated by Leah Thomas.

As our heads spun through the many valuable lists that were created in the last two weeks to share resources and encourage support of Black-owned businesses, leaders, artists and activists, we found ourselves with list fatigue. We realized that our ambition to be a part of real and lasting change is essential, but it's not sustainable if we at GFJ cannot slow down. 'Moving too fast causes harm,' wrote Connie Matisse on the East Fork Pottery instagram feed this week - something learned from their business coach, Desiree Adaway, and elaborated on by Kenneth Jones' and Tema Okun's 'Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture' in their book, Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups (summarized online by Showing Up for Racial Justice).

To slow down is to see that small things can make a big difference. Every time I think of the power of small things, I think of a piece of litter in the woods. Pick it up. Recycle it. Add it to your garbage bag. Put it in the Lost & Found. We have never faltered on the importance of just one action to make a more sustainable world, nor have we ever been ones to dismiss another recipe, another cookbook, another crumb or tidbit of an opportunity to learn about what's going on at our table or on our plate.

And so while we continue to seek out and tell the stories of Black people - especially as it pertains to food culture and sustainability - we will also be reviewing and reflecting the many ways that we can alter and update our daily operations and use our resources to contribute to dismantling structural racism. We will make mistakes along the way, and experience discomfort. But we are committed.

We look forward to sharing more about this in the coming weeks...we plan to do it slowly...and deliberately...because our commitment to Anti-racism extends as far into the future as we have eyes to see.

Thanks to Ivirlei Brookes, business and mindset coach for creatives, and founder of Mavenelle, whose videos helped us to begin today.

In solidarity,

Tay + Dor

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