Rhythms of The Land Screening
Rhythms of the Land documentary is a valentine to generations of Black farming families in the United States, from the enslavement period to the present. Their story is long overdue.
A Multimedia Film Documentary by Dr. Gail P. Myers
Date/TimeSaturday, February 24
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Norfolk Botanical Garden is honored to host the private screening of Rhythms of the Land. Guests must register in advance to attend the complimentary film screening. There will be light refreshments and a chance to hear from the director following the film.
A Love Story of Land and Family
In 1920, there were over 920,000 Black families farming in the United States, although the majority were sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Today there are just over 48,697, a 95% decrease in 100 years. Black farming families have lost their land and their stories are quickly disappearing and should be preserved so that we may understand the history and nature of lives on the farms. The goal of this documentary is to preserve their stories and honor their lives and agrarian legacies.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I am Gail Myers, a cultural anthropologist and creator of the film project, Rhythms of the Land. In 1997, while pursuing my doctorate at The Ohio State University, I conducted my first interviews with African American farmers. For the last 23 years I have been interviewing, researching, writing about, and filming the stories of African American farmers.
Rhythms of the Land documentary fills the void of these missing agrarian narratives and honors these sharecroppers, farmers, and gardeners.
We want to thank Bank of America for being our sponsor and the Chesapeake – Virginia Beach Alumnae Chapter of DELTA Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. for being a community partner.
