Making a Way Out of No Way

Historically, it is logical that the urban agricultural movement, and with it the roots of a 21st century post-industrial society, should begin in deindustrialized cities like Detroit and Milwaukee.

That is because the present residents today of these rustbelt cities are mostly descendants of the millions of African Americans who migrated North in the 20th century, bringing with them their “making a way out of no way” souls.

 University of Professor Stephen Ward’s introduction to A James Boggs Reader: Pages From A Black Radical’s Notebook, includes a memorable section explaining this "soul.” It is entitled “Southern Roots: Making a Way out of no Way,”

”… racist terror was not the sole or even the dominant force in James Boggs’ young life. Throughout most of his adult life as an activist, he credited the community in which he was raised for instilling in him a sense of responsibility and an appreciation for struggle, a sensibility that is captured in the African American folk saying ‘making a way out of no way.‘ He credited this lesson from his childhood with instilling in him a personal and communal sense of struggle, a resolve in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.”

 With this “soul” Detroit’s African American elders were able to view the vacant lots of deindustrialized Detroit not as bright but as opportunities to grow food for the community and also to give city kids a sense of process. That is why, having named themselves “The Gardening Angels.” They joined Detroit Summer youth in the program to rebuild, redefine and respirit Detroit from the ground up, inviting them to plant and weed community gardens and thereby reconnect with the Earth.

 That is how the urban ag movement came to Detroit.