By Cindy Cortez ’24
“If you give a hungry man food, he will eat it. If you give him land, he will grow his own food.” ~Fannie Lou Hamer
I have always been very active in my communities but always questioned whether what I’m doing is what my community actually needs and whether I am doing it for the right reasons. From Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III, the founder of the Black Church Food Security Network, I answered part of my question: GIVE PEOPLE POWER. It’s not only about one-time charity, but rather a sustainable and empowering solution. A message which is better conveyed in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, a Black American activist: “[On her Freedom Farm Cooperative:] If you give a hungry man food, he will eat it. [But] if you give him land, he will grow his own food.”
With these words, many would also think she is inviting to self-sufficiency and independence. But I have never believed one can be fully independent, with these I don’t mean people should depend on others, or the government, or rely on the neighbor. I think people should aim for interdependence. We are part of a bigger picture, and we won’t ever be able to do everything by ourselves, but we can’t depend on others to solve all our problems. But most importantly, we need to think that a lot of people consider themselves as part of a community, where call and response, socializing, and caring for each other is a core value, and this should be one of the main reasons to empower everyone and to aim for interdependence.