We are honored and humbled to partner with New Communities, Inc. from Albany, Georgia. New Communities, one of the first community land trusts in the U.S., turned the loss of their original land due to discrimination into a story of resilience and opportunity.
Shop New Communities, Inc. Georgia Pecans Fortune Favors here
From their website, a little background:
New Communities is a grassroots organization that has worked for more than 40 years to empower African American families in Southwest Georgia and advocate for social justice.
Born out of the Civil Rights Movement in 1969, New Communities, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(4) based in Albany, Georgia. Founded as a collective farm, New Communities is widely recognized as the original model for community land trusts in the US. Today, the founding members, including Charles and Shirley Sherrod, are dedicated to empowering the community through agribusiness and economic development.
Update: Charles Sherrod died on October 11, 2022. Tributes and obituary here and here.
New Communities brings a mature vision, grounded on decades of experience, adversity, and commitment to this historic opportunity. The vision of New Communities is to become a thriving organization that is a global model for community empowerment through agribusiness, education, social awareness, and wealth building.
Distilled, the vision can be summed in three words - “PRESERVE. FARM. CULTURE.” In preserving, it will improve and protect the wildlife habitat and preserve a restorative landscape for human meditation and health through hiking, biking, and other low-impact activities. In Farming, it will produce revenue-generating crops and also serve as a place for teaching, learning, and the development of new agriculture techniques and technology. As a Culture, a place for community and social development will emerge as New Communities establishes a new public meeting ground for events seminars, social activities, lodging, retail, classroom and conference center.
Some resources:
Story from NPR on their 50th anniversary
Documentary film “Arc of Justice”
https://www.arcofjusticefilm.com
Arc of Justice traces the remarkable journey of New Communities, Inc. (NCI) in southwest Georgia, a story of racial justice, community organizing, and perseverance in the face of enormous obstacles.
Resource guide from documentary — great read! PDF here.
