Braiding Justice: Enslaved Peoples’ Agency Amidst Incredible Hardship

This lesson is also about power: who has it, what that leads to in terms of storytelling, and how people, even those who are seen in the margins, can sustain successes, rightfully gaining some of that power back. It is a family story, corroborated by articles, so primary and secondary sources can be analyzed by students.

In telling the story from Farming While Black, Leah Penniman reframes a narrative of enslavement of people. The lesson and encourages students to think of the agency they may have in their lives. Extension activities include researching additional contributions of Black people to farming and a suggestion for an interview project.