Cultural Anthropologist and documentary filmmaker with 25+ years of experience in African American farming anthropology.
Overview
34
34
years of professional experience
Work History
Filmmaker
Rhythms of the Land
09.2022
Company Overview: (www.rhythmsoftheland.com)
Completed a 60-minute documentary on Black farmers and sharecroppers, covering US agriculture from the Civil War to today. Filmed in 2012, it is screening nationwide in theaters, universities, food conferences, and online.
Founder
Farms to Grow, Inc.
01.2004 - Current
Co-founded a nonprofit supporting Black and disadvantaged farmers. Over 19 years, FTG collaborated with local agencies, schools, nonprofits, and community organizations to develop community and youth enrichment through food efforts and developing farmers markets.
Adjunct Faculty
Morehouse School of Medicine
09.2002 - Current
Created the 'Ethnicity, Class, Politics, and Disease' course for Morehouse Med School’s Master of Public Health program. Developed course materials and lesson plans, and assisted students with final projects.
Staff Liaison
Sweet Freedom Farm
09.2022 - 05.2023
Provided consultation, evaluation, staff assessment, Board development, strategic planning, and staff morale support for a non-profit farm organization focused on growing food for incarcerated families and political action support.
Market Consultant
Bayview Hunters Point Family
04.2017 - 10.2018
Organized district 10 community residents, churches, and school gardeners to open a neighborhood growers’ market. Provided technical assistance, created marketing materials, secured talent and entertainment, trained youth growers, and combined diverse neighbors in a weekly seasonal market. Bayview Growers Market ran for two seasons.
Principal Researcher
Hayward Promise Neighborhood
09.2013 - 09.2015
Served as principal researcher for a federally funded project, developing training manuals, training bi-lingual surveyors, and supervising daily quality control. The 5-year pilot project, funded by the Obama Administration, was conducted in 12 neighborhoods, including Hayward, CA.
Market
Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association
03.2005 - 06.2008
Developed a farmers’ market in a low-income SF community, recruiting farmers, marketing to local organizations, and training a local resident to manage the market. The weekly market created a positive and safe space in a community affected by drugs and violence.
Instructor
The Ohio State University
01.1999 - 12.2002
Applied innovative teaching strategies for 50 to 100 undergraduate students, including small group projects and classroom presentations. Created engaging written and oral assignments and research projects.
Visiting Lecturer
Denison University
08.1999 - 12.1999
Incorporated field trips, guest lecturers, community presentations, class discussions, and formal teaching into this curriculum. Organized an overnight on-farm field trip with 14 students to an 89-year-old Black farmer in Southern Ohio.
Morehouse School of Medicine
01.1992 - 05.1997
Assisted in survey design for a five-year NIH AIDS/HIV study, conducting focus groups, interviews, and participant observation. Portions of this research were published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Research Consultant
Battelle Memorial Institute
01.1994 - 05.1996
Part of a CDC-funded project team assessing STD prevention program responses to the early syphilis epidemic in the Southern US. Provided qualitative input to study design, data management, analysis, and interpretation. Conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups. Final manuscript included in CDC publication.
Ethnographer
Public/Private Ventures
11.1994 - 04.1996
Conducted participant observation and documented the organization of a community-based teen pregnancy initiative. Interviewed residents and systems’ representatives, producing weekly analytic field notes. The Annie Casey Foundation Program was implemented in several states, including Atlanta, GA.
Education
Ph.D. - Cultural Anthropology
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
01.2001
M.A. - Applied Anthropology
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
01.1997
B. A. - English
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
01.1991
Associate of Arts - General Studies
Daytona Beach Community College
Daytona Beach, FL
01.1988
Skills
Black Farmers Traditions and Material Culture
African American Farmers Qualitative Research Design
Black Farmers and Foodways in the US
Qualitative Research Methods
Timeline
Filmmaker
Rhythms of the Land
09.2022
Staff Liaison
Sweet Freedom Farm
09.2022 - 05.2023
Market Consultant
Bayview Hunters Point Family
04.2017 - 10.2018
Principal Researcher
Hayward Promise Neighborhood
09.2013 - 09.2015
Market
Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association
03.2005 - 06.2008
Founder
Farms to Grow, Inc.
01.2004 - Current
Adjunct Faculty
Morehouse School of Medicine
09.2002 - Current
Visiting Lecturer
Denison University
08.1999 - 12.1999
Instructor
The Ohio State University
01.1999 - 12.2002
Ethnographer
Public/Private Ventures
11.1994 - 04.1996
Research Consultant
Battelle Memorial Institute
01.1994 - 05.1996
Morehouse School of Medicine
01.1992 - 05.1997
M.A. - Applied Anthropology
Georgia State University
B. A. - English
Florida State University
Associate of Arts - General Studies
Daytona Beach Community College
Ph.D. - Cultural Anthropology
The Ohio State University
Awards
2024 Food to Community Leader, Northern California Public Media, Food and Wine Awards Monterey, CA, 2023 Advocate for Social Justice “Justie” Award, Eco farm Conference, Asilomar, CA, 2022 Special Recognition Award, Senate State of California, Asilomar, CA, 2015 Certificate of Recognition, California State Legislature, Stockton, CA, 2000 Special Recognition Award Ohio House of Representatives, Delaware, OH
Publications
2022 Rice.” In Black Food: Stories, Recipes from across the African Diaspora, Ed. Terry, Bryant, 4 Color Books, California, pp140-141.
2017 Bandele, Owusu, Myers, Gail, The Roots of Black Agrarianism: Land Justice: Re-imagining Land, Food, and the Commons. Eds. Williams, J & Gimenez, E. Food First, Berkeley, CA, pp19-39.
2015 Myers, Gail, Decolonizing a Food System: Freedom Farmers’ Market as a Place for Resistance and Analysis. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Commentaries on Race and Ethnicity in Food Systems Work, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp149-152
June 1997 Myers, G, McGrady, G, et al. Weapon carrying among black adolescents: a social network perspective: American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 87. No. 6. pp1038-1040
June 2022 Featured in Discovery + Series, “Hungry for Answers: Where are the Black Farmers,” with Caroline Randall Williams, produced by Viola Davis, aired June 8, 2022
Oct. 2019 Featured in Huff Post Video Article, “Forgotten Farmers,” Oct. 2019
April 2015 Featured in Root Magazine, “One of Seven Urban Farmers to Know,” April 24, 2015
Feb 2005 Organized the 22nd California Small Farm Conference, Ventura, CA
March 2000 Developed and coordinated the first statewide conference for Ohio's African American Farmers, “Sustaining Communities: Ohio’s Black Farmers at the Crossroads,” Delaware, OH
Teaching History
January 2023- Part-time Faculty
Present The New School, New York, NY, Food Studies Program Developed the course “Black Farmers and Foodways in the US” drawing on 25+ years of interviews and fieldwork
April 2005- June 2005 Instructor, Cultural Studies San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA Designed a rigorous Cultural Studies course with a critical analysis framework, incorporating innovative teaching methods like hip hop music and fashion.