Oregon’s Farm and Ranch Equity and Anti-Racism Program (O-FREAP) is an opportunity for farmers and ranchers to learn about, address, and dismantle racism within the food and farm systems and beyond.
Farming and ranching in Oregon and throughout the U.S. was established through oppressive systems including racial exclusion, land theft, and violence. These systems still exist and continue to cause harm. There are changes that can be made on the individual and systems level; this program lays a foundation for the skills, knowledge, and networks needed to take action. We invite farmers and ranchers to join a self-paced online curriculum with the opportunity to connect with others through peer learning.
It is free for farmers and ranchers to participate as the project collaborative is sponsoring the curriculum and its administration. Registration is required. Register to gain these skills and be a part of the solution. https://beav.es/wio
***If you encounter technical issues while registering or accessing the course, please submit this form: https://forms.gle/r2w7kqgyzvZFKox98. Thank you for your patience with the resolution as this program is being administered by volunteers.
The Program:
It’s true that many of us now acknowledge racism as a root cause of inequity. At the same time, we lack a shared set of working definitions and an understanding of what racism is and how it functions. If we want to achieve justice, it’s critical that we build a shared understanding of racism and the systems that perpetuate it. That is precisely what this curriculum intends to do.
The first section (Foundations) focuses on basic concepts and issues that are fundamental to understanding race, racism, power, privilege, and oppression and their impact on everyday life in the United States.
The second section (Confronting Oppression) offers practical knowledge and skills enabling you to interrupt oppressive moments.
The third section (Continuing the Journey) explores how you can sustain equity, continually apply your equity literate analysis, and grow personally and professionally in this area after completing this curriculum.
This program is an opportunity to build a movement of action and accountability with site specific or regional peer learning cohorts.
How to engage:
This program will be offered across the State of Oregon by participating sponsor organizations to farmers and ranchers. Depending on individual needs, the program can take several months, a year, or several “off seasons”. The online curriculum has approximately 40 hours of engagement. We recommend that you take your time with this content, and use the provided resources in each section as necessary to reinforce your understanding of challenging topics before moving on. The work is lifelong.
This program was curated by resolution lab (https://www.resolutionlab.org/our-collective), a Black, Indigenous, People of Color-owned firm, with sponsorship from a collaborative of farmer and rancher service providers including: OSU Extension Services Small Farms Program, Rogue Farm Corps, Ecotrust, Friends of Family Farmers, and the Oregon Community Food System Network’s Farming for the Future Working Group. We believe that we are collectively responsible for fixing and redesigning harmful systems of oppression. Working together as a professional network helps ensure that the needs of farmers and ranchers are addressed across the state, that diverse perspectives are represented, and that resources are available to all.