333 Billion Dollar California Working Landscape introduced at 2020 Black Expo

2020 Spring Equinox is on the horizon and it is time to prepare for 2020 California Ag Day. Our California Black Agriculture Working Group helped play an essential role in helping bring the 32nd Sacramento Black Expo to California State University, Sacramento in a good way.

Our Black Expo at CSUS, marks a very special occasion of the 5th Saturday, Leap Year, 2020 Black History Month.

Spring has arrived early, and soon the day and night will be equal. We give thanks to CSUS President Nelsen and his amazing Black Expo team lead by Associate Vice President, Dr. Marcellene Watson-Derbigny who has raised the bar toward year round opportunity.

In the CSUS Planetarium, we will view the stars of the heavens as we prepare to celebrate the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the Spring Equinox to acknowledge the risen savior.

People of African descent throughout the Sacramento region and throughout the State of California are beginning to embrace agriculture in a new way, key leaders will travel to Sacramento and celebrate.

A new generation of Ageicukturalists are moving beyond fear, apathy and "go at alone" approach created by centuries of adverse experiences in the U.S. Agriculture industry. A new approach can work cooperatively toward a rebirth of equity and inclusion just as the 2018 UC Natural Resources Report of the 333 billion dollar California Working Landscape quantifies amazing new opportunity.

Every year, as the first official day of spring approaches, agriculture moves into the spotlight.

Genesis 15:12-14 speaks of the potency of this special moment, opening a positive new way forward in scripture.

The “California Working Landscape: A Key Contributor to the State’s Economic Vitality” was announced in Fall 2019 in Fresno, CA and few key leaders of Pan African Ancestry in the State of California, (Black Agriculture) have joined the celebration of joining the economic marketplace of the California Working Landscape.

Our team objective and approach by our California Black Agriculture Working Group at the 2020 Black Expo is to introduce a multi-discipline approach to expand the possibilities for our youth, college students and their parents who some have never walked the campus of CSUS or any college campus to consider jobs and careers in Black Agriculture.

Together, we extrapolate from the data to measure our vast global economic opportunities from the working landscape. Researchers from the Centers of Excellence, California Economic Summit and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources analyzed federal data associated with employment, earnings and sales income of the nine segments that are essential to the working landscape: agricultural distribution, agricultural production, agricultural processing, agricultural support, fishing, forestry, mining, outdoor recreation and renewable energy.

For decades we have shared the childhood values instilled and believed where "Agriculture is the Foundation of Black Culture," the time is now.

Black Agriculture has a very unique historical legacy of efficient use of our lands and resources from Ancient Africa to the early California Gold Rush Era and California Statehood, 170 years ago.

Today, our Pan African “hidden figures” continue to contribute to medicine, research, education and other agriculture-dependent technologies while facing truly unique obstacles including, previous condition of servitude, California “Jim Crow” laws and abject disparaging treatment on campus and in the workforce.

Proudly, we join a positive new way forward, 2020 Black Expo at California State University, Sacramento and expand the conversation as we prepare for 2020 California Ag Day, Black Ag Expo - California Working Landscape Symposium.