Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference


​Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference

​The Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners (BUGs) National Conference is an annual national gathering in the United States dedicated to Black agriculture, food justice, land stewardship, and community empowerment. Organized by Black Urban Growers (BUGs), the event brings together urban and rural growers, land activists, educators, and community health organizers to address systemic inequalities within the American food system.

​History

​The conference was established in 2010 by community organizer and food activist Karen Washington, along with co-founders Suzanne Babb, Lorrie Clevenger, Regina Ginyard, and other members of Black Urban Growers. The inaugural convening took place at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York, attracting over 500 attendees and featuring keynote speaker Will Allen, founder of Growing Power.

​The national gathering was founded to address systemic barriers facing Black agriculturalists, including historical land loss, limited access to capital, food apartheid, and underrepresentation in national agricultural policy. Over time, the conference grew into the largest national convening focused specifically on Black agriculture and food sovereignty in the United States.

​Mission and Themes

​The conference serves as a platform for knowledge-sharing, policy advocacy, and community building across four core focus areas:

  • ​Sustainable Agriculture and Agroecology: Workshops cover soil health, biochar, seed saving, agroforestry, urban production techniques, and climate-resilient farming.
  • ​Land Justice and Policy: Sessions focus on land access, black land retention, fighting heir property issues, and navigating federal and state agricultural assistance programs.
  • ​Economic Sovereignty: Developing cooperative business structures, local distribution channels, market expansion, and funding models for BIPOC agricultural projects.
  • ​Ancestral Knowledge and Community Health: Honoring traditional ecological knowledge, regional foodways, culinary heritage, and health wellness strategies.

​Host Locations

​The conference rotates annually between major urban centers and university campuses across the United States:

​Host Locations and History

​The conference began in 2010 at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York, featuring keynotes from Will Allen and Ralph Paige. In 2011, the event took place at Hostos Community College in the Bronx, New York, with K. Rashid Nuri and Audrey Rowe.

​The conference returned to Brooklyn in 2013 at NYC Boys and Girls High School, featuring Ben Burkett and Dr. Monica White. It shifted to Detroit, Michigan in 2014 with LaDonna Redmon and Bryant Terry, followed by Oakland, California in 2015 with Dr. Gail Myers.

​In 2016, the gathering returned to New York City at Harlem Renaissance High School, featuring Savi Horne, Owusu Bandele, and Walter Andrew Hill. The 2017 conference was hosted at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia with Shirley Sherrod, while the 2018 event took place in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, with Dr. Monica White and Leah Penniman.

​The event returned to New York City in 2019 at The New School, featuring Dr. Heber Brown. Recent conferences include Houston, Texas in 2024 (focusing on regional urban growing and land rights), the 2025 conference at University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit, Michigan (focusing on Midwest agriculture and urban food justice), and the 2026 conference at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana (focusing on Southern foodways and land sovereignty).

Impact

​The conference has facilitated national networking that led to regional Black farming coalitions, food cooperatives, and land trust initiatives. It played a pivotal role in elevating terms such as "food apartheid" into national discourse on agricultural equity.  

​See also

​Black farmers in the United States  

​Food sovereignty  

​Karen Washington  

​National Black Farmers Association  

​Urban agriculture  

​References

​Black Urban Growers. "About BUGs - Black Urban Growers." blackurbangrowers.org.

​Wikipedia. "Karen Washington." wikipedia.org.

​North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. "The 13th Annual Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners (BUGs) Conference." ncejn.org.



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