The California Institute of Rural Studies is pleased to announce the premiere of our newest Cal Ag Roots podcast series, We Are Not Strangers Here. This series highlights hidden histories of African Americans who have shaped California’s food and farming culture from early statehood to the present.

Tune into the podcast here:

• Episode One: “Freedom Chasers: Early Black Settlers and the California Dream” Airs 2/9/21
• Episode Two: “Hidden Roots: Uncovering the Legacies of African American Homesteaders in California” Airs 2/16/21
• Episode Three: “Cultivating Change: African American Homesteaders, Innovators, and Civic Leaders” Airs 2/23/21
• Episode Four: “Independent Settlements: Building Black Communities in Rural California” Airs 3/2/21
• Episode Five: “Back to the Land: Allensworth and the Black Utopian Dream” Airs 3/9/21
• Episode Six: “Still Here: Black Farmers & Agricultural Stewardship in the Modern Age” Airs 3/16/21

We Are Not Strangers Here is a collaboration between Susan Anderson of the California African American Museum, the California Historical Society, Exhibit Envoy, and Amy Cohen, Dr. Caroline Collins from UC San Diego, and our Cal Ag Roots Project at the California Institute for Rural Studies.

This project was made possible with support from the California Humanities’ Humanities for All Project Grant, and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation.