‘Reverse-gentrify the country’: how Black and Indigenous intentional communities are reclaiming land

From California to Alabama, people of color are building communal spaces rooted in care and tradition Zappa Montag steps outside his home to a thicket of redwoods, Pacific madrones and oak trees. Dozens of fruit trees dot the 76 hectares (189 acres), along with a large garden replete with squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, corn and peppers. Nearby, a small stream runs through a valley surrounded by hills. At Black to the Land, the ecovillage in Boonville, California, Montag and five other Bl...

By Melissa Hellmann