&id=114&Itemid=32) to
> help buy back the
> > farm.
> >
> > Julia is asking for every person to give at least
> $1 towards this
> > historic farm. Together we can make the
> difference.   Donate NOW at
> > www.southcentralfarmers.com
> >
> > Here's the story:
> >
> > Just about one week ago, Julia walked into the
> Circle of Life
> > office and told us that while she hoped it did not
> come down to the
> > need for her to do direct action to save the South
> Central Farm in
> > Los Angeles—she would be up in a tree soon if
> there was a need. On
> > Tuesday, May 23 Julia stationed herself in the
> “community
> > watchtower”- a 3 story high walnut tree on the 14
> acre South
> > Central Farm. She joins in solidarity with 350
> poor working class
> > families who use the farm to grow organic food for
> themselves and
> > their community.
> >
> > Fourteen years ago, this spot was a wasteland- and
> in the wake of
> > the 1992 LA uprising then-Mayor Bradley and Doris
> Block of the L.A.
> > Regional Food Bank made a handshake deal to allow
> it to be used for
> > a community farm. Today, after thousands and
> thousands of hours of
> > sweat and labor, the South Central Farm is the
> largest urban farm
> > in the nation. The 350 families who use the
> farming plots are
> > low?income and depend heavily upon the food
> they grow to feed
> > themselves. In addition to growing food for
> themselves, the people
> > involved with the community garden hold Farmers'
> Markets, festivals
> > and other cultural events for the public at large.
> >
> > In a backroom deal in 1996, the 14 acre farm was
> offered to a
> > developer at a discount, but the deal was never
> approved by the
> > City Council. In 2002, the developers sued the
> City and a
> > settlement was reached giving the farm to the
> developers for a
> > significantly below-market price. To repurchase
> the farm, the
> > developer is insisting on over $16 million (they
> paid just over $5
> > million for it four years ago) and $6 million has
> already been
> > raised by the South Central Farmers. Mayor Antonio
> Villaraigosa has
> > the ability to pay the rest of selling price from
> the City budget,
> > or further challenge the original sale. However,
> he has done neither.
> >
> > “This is the Promised Land”, community leader Dele
> Ailemen
> > emphatically stated on the encampment’s first day.
> “It was land
> > that was promised to this community by the Mayor
> of Los Angeles
> > after the 1992 uprising.” “It will not be taken
> away by broken
> > political promises.”
> >
> >
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> >
> > Circle of Life
> > P.O. Box 3764
> > Oakland, California 94609
> >
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