Juneteenth 2021- Nyema Clark

Nyema Clark
Founder and Director of Nurturing Roots Farm, Beacon Hill, Seattle, WA

South Seattle native Nyema Clark, a 33 year-old social justice organizer, founded Nurturing Roots Farm on Beacon Hill in 2016 to fulfill a dream – a dream to create something for the community that would involve healthy activities, a place to grow their own food, and re-engage people of color with the environment.

Clark’s dream led her to acquire and clear an overgrown P-patch, transforming it into a thriving urban farm and community-farming program. The main goal of Nurturing Roots is to get more people of color involved in “sustainable agriculture awareness.” By providing a space for people to come together to grow food, offering opportunities to learn about agriculture, hosting various events, and partnering with local restaurants, Nurturing Roots is a triumph.

In addition, Clark advocates for the incarcerated and has organized with No New Youth Jail and Black Prisoners’ Caucus. She is an organizing keyholder of the Black Power Epicenter Cooperative on Beacon Hill and a black small business owner and founder of Avenue South, where she specializes in producing natural handmade food and body products.

The Garden Queen, as she prefers to be called, is enlarging her dream to include 40 acres in Auburn, Washington, which she plans to call the “Red, Black and Green Barn Ranch” – in tribute to the colors of Black liberation. Working the land makes her feel whole. “I feel like my ancestors are talking to me,” says Clark.