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 Black people steward the land off the grid, relying on well water and powered solely by solar panels. The intentional community, as it’s called, is located in a rural area 115 miles (185km) north of San Francisco. Montag said it was an effort to “reverse-gentrify the country”.
Black Americans and Indigenous people have long gathered in intentional communities, defined as small groups of people who live in the same area based on shared values and a common vision. They come in many forms, including co-housing spaces in urban environments where people have their own units and share communal spaces.