What We Do
Preserve. Empower. Build.
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OUR THREE-PART MISSION:
(1) PRESERVE the 138-acre historic Clemmons farm in Vermont as a critical educational prototype, and a model for preserving other African-American owned agricultural land, cultural and heritage assets in the U.S. Only 0.4% of farms in the US are African-American owned.
(2) EMPOWER a growing network of Vermont's artists, including those who bear the cultures of the African diaspora with opportunities for professional development, advocacy, visibility, networking, paid engagements, collective healing, and a safe haven for creativity that helps them to thrive.
(3) BUILD a loving multicultural community around African-American/African diaspora history, arts and culture.
(2) EMPOWER a growing network of Vermont's artists, including those who bear the cultures of the African diaspora with opportunities for professional development, advocacy, visibility, networking, paid engagements, collective healing, and a safe haven for creativity that helps them to thrive.
(3) BUILD a loving multicultural community around African-American/African diaspora history, arts and culture.
PRESERVE.
In 2023, Clemmons Family Farm, Inc. completed a successful fundraising campaign to purchase the historic Clemmons farm in Vermont. This significant achievement coincided with the 100th birthdays of the farm’s previous owners- Dr. Jackson Clemmons and Mrs. Lydia Clemmons- who were both born in 1923. The couple purchased the farm in 1962 and maintained the property as a working farm, restoring its many historic buildings (some dating back to the 1700s) and creating a space to share African American history, culture and arts. They owned and stewarded the farm for 61 consecutive years without selling a single acre until 2023, when the nonprofit named in their honor purchased the farm.
Our fundraising campaign's success was made possible through the support of a number of wonderful partnering organizations and individuals who gave grants and donations— alongside the sale of a conservation easement on the farm— to safeguard the farm’s future as a vital cultural, historical, and agricultural site in Vermont.
Encompassing 138 acres of prime agricultural land, forest, and wetlands with six historical buildings, the Clemmons farm is an official landmark on the Vermont African American Heritage Trail and stands as a living history site, exemplifying the Clemmons elders’ vision, commitment, and love for their cultural heritage and their multicultural community.
Over the past century, African Americans have endured a devastating loss of more than 90% of their land assets: from nearly 44 million acres in the 1920s to just 4.1 million acres today. African American-owned farms make up less than half of one percent (0.4%) of all farms in the United States and only 3 percent of sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places focus on Black experiences. These sobering statistics make the collective efforts to save the Clemmons Farm an inspiring national model for the preservation of land and places that hold cultural and historic significance.
Below: Photo of the farm's west meadows. Clemmons Family Farm protects 122 acres of the farm's open agricultural fields, forest, and wetlands through a land conservation easement.
In 2023, Clemmons Family Farm, Inc. completed a successful fundraising campaign to purchase the historic Clemmons farm in Vermont. This significant achievement coincided with the 100th birthdays of the farm’s previous owners- Dr. Jackson Clemmons and Mrs. Lydia Clemmons- who were both born in 1923. The couple purchased the farm in 1962 and maintained the property as a working farm, restoring its many historic buildings (some dating back to the 1700s) and creating a space to share African American history, culture and arts. They owned and stewarded the farm for 61 consecutive years without selling a single acre until 2023, when the nonprofit named in their honor purchased the farm.
Our fundraising campaign's success was made possible through the support of a number of wonderful partnering organizations and individuals who gave grants and donations— alongside the sale of a conservation easement on the farm— to safeguard the farm’s future as a vital cultural, historical, and agricultural site in Vermont.
Encompassing 138 acres of prime agricultural land, forest, and wetlands with six historical buildings, the Clemmons farm is an official landmark on the Vermont African American Heritage Trail and stands as a living history site, exemplifying the Clemmons elders’ vision, commitment, and love for their cultural heritage and their multicultural community.
Over the past century, African Americans have endured a devastating loss of more than 90% of their land assets: from nearly 44 million acres in the 1920s to just 4.1 million acres today. African American-owned farms make up less than half of one percent (0.4%) of all farms in the United States and only 3 percent of sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places focus on Black experiences. These sobering statistics make the collective efforts to save the Clemmons Farm an inspiring national model for the preservation of land and places that hold cultural and historic significance.
Below: Photo of the farm's west meadows. Clemmons Family Farm protects 122 acres of the farm's open agricultural fields, forest, and wetlands through a land conservation easement.
EMPOWER.
Our work to preserve the 138-acre Clemmons farm is closely tied to our work to empower a growing network of Vermont artists, including those who self-identify as bearers of the cultures of the African diaspora. The physical farm provides a strong platform for African diaspora arts, culture, and farming in Vermont. It is a vibrant demonstration of the importance of investing in and retaining cultural heritage assets-- land, businesses, cultural heritage, education and human resources-- as tangible ways to enhance Vermont as a multicultural state. We provide opportunities for artists to have paid creative work, professional development, networking, and an inspiring platform to showcase their work. We actively advocate for opportunities to help artists, including African diaspora culture bearers, to THRIVE in Vermont.
Below: Artists on the Farm Video Series: Meet some of the sixteen brilliant Vermont artists selected for a professional photoshoot on the Clemmons farm in 2022!
Our work to preserve the 138-acre Clemmons farm is closely tied to our work to empower a growing network of Vermont artists, including those who self-identify as bearers of the cultures of the African diaspora. The physical farm provides a strong platform for African diaspora arts, culture, and farming in Vermont. It is a vibrant demonstration of the importance of investing in and retaining cultural heritage assets-- land, businesses, cultural heritage, education and human resources-- as tangible ways to enhance Vermont as a multicultural state. We provide opportunities for artists to have paid creative work, professional development, networking, and an inspiring platform to showcase their work. We actively advocate for opportunities to help artists, including African diaspora culture bearers, to THRIVE in Vermont.
Below: Artists on the Farm Video Series: Meet some of the sixteen brilliant Vermont artists selected for a professional photoshoot on the Clemmons farm in 2022!
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BUILD.
We bring people together across differences of race, culture, national origin, language and religion. We then work to transform these differences into opportunities for people to learn, celebrate and commune in a unique setting that is welcoming, inspiring and deeply meaningful- the Clemmons Farm in Vermont. We help people to relax, have fun, and enjoy multicultural experiences with art, history and place at the center of their engagements with the farm and with each other.
Our mission is to be “more than a farm” by offering curated opportunities for visitors to enjoy discovering the fascinating history, culture, arts and sciences of the African diaspora in what is often described as a "magical" setting with views of the Adirondacks, wide-open meadows and lovely historic buildings. Many of our programs are designed to give people a chance to create art together, to learn about each other and to enjoy each other's company. We use African-American heritage as the central theme around which people- - all people-- can unite. We encourage multicultural small group interactions where quality human-to-human connections and positive relationships begin on the Farm and continue off the Farm, spreading out into our expanded community.
We promote the celebration of heritage as a continuum in which we learn from our past, shape our present, and invest in our future. The Clemmons Family Farm is one of the official 22 landmark cultural and historic sites on Vermont's African-American Heritage Trail. We are one of the 2% of organizations who won the prestigious 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund grants from ArtPlace America.
Our programs center the arts and African diaspora cultures in cross-sectoral collaborations with public health, K12 education, historic preservation, and agriculture, which we design and implement partnership with a statewide network of Vermont artists of the African diaspora.
We bring people together across differences of race, culture, national origin, language and religion. We then work to transform these differences into opportunities for people to learn, celebrate and commune in a unique setting that is welcoming, inspiring and deeply meaningful- the Clemmons Farm in Vermont. We help people to relax, have fun, and enjoy multicultural experiences with art, history and place at the center of their engagements with the farm and with each other.
Our mission is to be “more than a farm” by offering curated opportunities for visitors to enjoy discovering the fascinating history, culture, arts and sciences of the African diaspora in what is often described as a "magical" setting with views of the Adirondacks, wide-open meadows and lovely historic buildings. Many of our programs are designed to give people a chance to create art together, to learn about each other and to enjoy each other's company. We use African-American heritage as the central theme around which people- - all people-- can unite. We encourage multicultural small group interactions where quality human-to-human connections and positive relationships begin on the Farm and continue off the Farm, spreading out into our expanded community.
We promote the celebration of heritage as a continuum in which we learn from our past, shape our present, and invest in our future. The Clemmons Family Farm is one of the official 22 landmark cultural and historic sites on Vermont's African-American Heritage Trail. We are one of the 2% of organizations who won the prestigious 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund grants from ArtPlace America.
Our programs center the arts and African diaspora cultures in cross-sectoral collaborations with public health, K12 education, historic preservation, and agriculture, which we design and implement partnership with a statewide network of Vermont artists of the African diaspora.
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Most of our arts and culture programs are led by our collaborating artists and are tailored for events for 50 people or less. These include:
We also occasionally provide guided tours of the property and historic buildings, and beautiful indoor and outdoor venues to rent for meetings, retreats and special events in a working landscape.
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AND YES, WE ARE A FARM!!! Nearly 60 acres of prime agricultural soils and 60 acres of forest are under our stewardship. The organic farmland produces two annual crops of hay; wheat, soy, corn, black beans and pinto beans in rotation. The forest is maintained under a Forest Management Plan and is a certified through the American Tree Farm System.
Click on the button below to enjoy our multi-media program highlights report!
