From the Farmstand: Recent Blog Posts by Jean Willoughby
Today Shirley Sherrod, who is a member of our Board of Directors, gave a presentation to our staff about “Arc of Justice,” a new documentary film that tells the story of black farmers in America as well as her and her husband Charles Sherrod’s personal stories of co-founding the nation’s first community land trust, New Communities, in 1969. The film also includes the Sherrod’s latest endeavor, purchasing and reinventing a former plantation. Located near Albany, Georgia the Cypress Pond Plantation (now renamed Resora) includes 1600+ acres of land formerly managed by one of the largest slave-holding families in Georgia’s history.
The film was produced by Helen Cohen and Mark Lipman of Open Studios Productions and was supported by funding from The Ford Foundation. The filmmakers write that, “Arc of Justice, part of the Streets of Dreams series, will trace the rise, fall, and rebirth of the first modern community land trust that was established in 1970 in Southwest Georgia.”
A big thanks from our staff to Shirley for sharing her story and the film with us today, and we look forward to seeing the new film on TV and hopefully on the big screen very soon!