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Richland Farms

Several years ago, a group of migrant farmers from Mexico and Central America took over an empty lot in South Central Los Angeles and created a community garden that became a model for urban agriculture. These farmers started out with one basic goal -- feed their families as economically as possible using knowledge and practices brought with them from the agrarian roots of Central America. Real estate disputes in 2006, however, put an end to the community garden, and the farmers were evicted from the land.

Similar to the struggles of the South Central farmers, the land and history of Compton's Richland Farms can provide a new springboard for community-based environmental practices.

We explore the land and history of Richland Farms, while taking a look back at the forms of informal urban agriculture practiced by the area's black residents during the 1950s and '60s. The story also traces the practices that were lost and then recovered by Latinos migrating from Central America, and ask what lessons they may provide for creating models of urban agriculture for future generations.

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When Reverend Compton donated the land that we now know as Compton, he stipulated that a certain acreage be zoned for agricultural purposes. Thus the City of Compton and Richland Farms were born.
Compton is experiencing a re-birth thanks in part to the perseverance and vision of some of its residents and political figures.
Yvonne Arceneaux has served as a councilwoman in District 3, Richland Farms since 1993.
Today, the lush vegetation along Compton Creek provides a glimpse into a time when the wetlands of Compton and Vernon were zoned for agriculture.
Cliff Williams is the owner of Cliff's Burritos, a Mexican food joint just off the northeast corner of Richland Farms.
Over the last decade health care and access to green space have become central topics of the debate around the revitalization of inner cities such as Compton.
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When black families began migrating from the rural South to Compton and Richland Farms in the 1950s, they found their "home away from home" in this small community.
County Director at UC Cooperative Extension, Rachel Surls is fascinated by the complexities and contradictions of Los Angeles' agricultural and planning history.
By the end of the 1960s, African-Americans had abandoned the search for a racial Promise Land and had come to terms with the near impossible task of overcoming the physical, philosophical and economical barriers created by centuries of racism.
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Adjacent to Compton Creek is a small fertile community garden at Raymond Street Park with an abundance of vegetables thanks in part to the care of retired landscaper Mildred Johnson.
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Lloyd Wilkins has been a property owner in Richland Farms since the 1960s, he owns two merged lots including rental homes and stables where he raises Tennessee Walking Horses.
Marie Hollis moved from Oklahoma to Southern California in 1967 and settled on a one acre lot in Richland Farms that had once housed 10,000 chickens, six…
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