CONVERSATIONS WITH HOTEP
January 12, 2010
MOBETTERFOOD
The Mo’ Better Food Educational Park/Farm on Dr.Martin Luther King Jr's National Day of Service?
Hotep, how did this come to be?
"Over a hundred years ago, a place called The Red Yeast Factory was shooting pollutants into the sky, killing people before their time.
In April of 2003, Monso Nitoto, CWOR and other community leaders demanded it be shut down, and succeeded. In a year or so, the location has development plans to become a senior center.
MO’BETTER FOOD-
What about the Mo’ Better Food Educational Park/Farm? What’s that about?
HOTEP- ahhh, now this is quite a story.
Drummer…please.
Monso, the community activist I mentioned above, has been keeping an eye on you, Mo Better Food. From the days of 1998, YOU started a farmers market at McClymonds high school to this very day, brother Monso has been keeping an eye.
YOU started the first farmers market at a high school –McClymonds, I recall.
With produce grown by African American Farmers, sold by mostly African American students, YOU were reconnecting agriculture back into our community.
While, you were doing this, Monso was watching YOU.
So, when this vacant lot became available, Monso asked YOU, what can we do with it, your response was build an educational park? But we know, its much deeper than this.
Your recent trip in Atlanta, you took a long visit to Dr. Kings house.
You went around the backyard and imagined him playing as a kid. You peaked through the window, and imagined the sounds of a radio. You sat on the stairs, and tears came to your eyes...why?
MO’BETTER FOOD- I don’t recall actually why. A combination of things came to mind. My visit to the Lorraine Hansberry Hotel came to mind.
I recall standing next to the rail where Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis,Tn.
As I sat at his place of birth, those images came to mind. I saw his family, his wife, his kids, his childhood, his first date with Coretta.
Also, I had just received an “ Outstanding Community Service Award from my National Morehouse Alumni Association.
To have received this award, meant and still means to me, my brothers from “THE HOUSE” are watching our efforts here in Oakland, and are in favor.
Plus, Dr. Martin Luther King graduated from Morehouse in 1948.
I thought about his days in Graves hall. His relationship to Morehouse’s, then President, Benjamin E. Mays. I thought about,the others, who surrounded him, walked with him, who believed in him.
I thought about the people today who continue through their work, his legacy. But more importantly, I thought, what would Dr. King want us do today?
HOTEP- So, when you asked me, how this came about? I believe you answered your own question.
MO’BETTER FOOD- Yes, Dr. King would want us to build Educational Parks/Farms in every community. In his book, "Where do we go grom here? Chaos or community, he wrote,
"Quality education for all is most likely to come through educational parks which bring together in one place all the students of a large area. Because of the economies of large –scale operation, the educational park will make practical a multiplicity of teaching specialist and superb facilities. Involving students from a wide area attracted by the superior opportunities, such a plan will guarantee school integration even before housing is desegregated.
The educational park is likely to be the next real structure for education. Funds should come from the federal government, which must move from supporting the fringes of education to supporting the basics-the teachers and the facilities with which they work. The federal government should begin to provide building grants to local school districts so that educational parks can be constructed. Building grants should go to localities-cities and suburbs –which locate schools so as to promote integration. The arbitrary lines of government should not serve to balkanize America into white and black schools and communities.”