Author: Chris Newsome-Bolden

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Bio: Chris Bolden-Newsome grew up in a social justice household, the oldest son of small-scale organic farmers and food sovereignty organizers Demalda Bolden-Newsome and Rufus Newsome, Sr. The Bolden-Newsome family comes from the Mississippi Delta though Chris' parents currently farm in North Tulsa, Oklahoma. Chris has been involved in community organizing and education since the age of 13, first as a teacher’s assistant in ESL programming and later through his involvement in issues of immigrants’ rights, all in the southwest region of the U.S. Chris worked for five years with city and community based agencies in HIV prevention and public health education as an outreach educator to homeless and difficult-to-access communities of color in Dallas, Texas and later in Washington, DC. He also has a background in teaching as a before and after school instructor of Spanish, French and English for literacy in DC public schools. Always fascinated by growing food, Chris got involved in food justice initially in Washington, DC by starting backyard gardens while studying anthropology at Howard University from 2001-2004. Chris briefly relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2008 to work with his family's farm, neighborhood, and tribal entities to increase access and food awareness in low wealth communities of color in the Tulsa area. While working in Tulsa, Chris designed and implemented curriculum for Food Sovereignty programming for youth connected to Newsome Community Farms. In 2008, Chris moved to South West Philadelphia where he co-directs a youth-based community farm and food sovereignty program.