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BMC is building a dream team of organizers and community leaders. We’re introducing each new addition to the BMC family one by one.
Today meet Shaquana Boykin, Food Sovereignty Organizer. You can contact her at sboykin@brooklynmovementcenter.org.
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What neighborhood are you from? Where do you live now?
I am from Crown Heights, Rogers and Park Place. I now live in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.
What’s important to you? What is the one thing you want us to know about you personally?
Humanity and a sense of ownership of ones community are important to me.
One thing I want you to know is that for a long time I didn’t know food came from the ground/soil/Mother Earth. One year I was accepted into the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Garden Apprentice program and they had us plant root veggies and greens. Weeks later they planned for us to harvest and eat what we had grown. My eyes got extremely big and I said, “I don’t eat food from the ground. Can we order a salad or go to the bodega?" That day changed my entire life.
What’s your job at BMC and what's the role you play in BMC’s Black liberation work?
I have the pleasure of being the Food Sovereignty Organizer for the Central Brooklyn Food Coop.
When many people hear “Black liberation” they think of “taking up arms” to be self determined. I think of a collective of Black folx working together, building independence and gaining knowledge through everything BMC focuses on, like food sovereignty, police accountability, Brooklyn Deep podcasts, political education or housing organizing.
What did you do before you got to BMC? What prepared you to do this work?
I worked at several different organizations before arriving at BMC, I was at the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice, and the Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety at NYCHA Ingersoll houses. I also managed programs and engagement at Fort Greene Park Conservancy.
I’ve done many years of food justice work. This includes managing NYCHA gardeners; creating a CSA model and partnership with Corbin Hill Food Project; helping residents shop at a Farmers Market and use SNAP; and holding supermarkets accountable in Fort Greene. These unique experiences have prepared me to do great things at BMC.
If you were reincarnated as an animal, what would it be and why?
Maybe a butterfly, or a dog. Dogs are so loyal and happy with anyone who cares for them. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we didn’t care whether we were related to each other and simply cared for each other and were loyal to one another? What a world it would be.
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