{"id":20728,"date":"2026-09-10T23:05:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=20728"},"modified":"2026-09-10T23:05:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:05:43","slug":"the-city-of-toledo-institutional-racism-and-the-exclusion-of-black-urban-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/10\/the-city-of-toledo-institutional-racism-and-the-exclusion-of-black-urban-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"The City of Toledo, Institutional Racism and the Exclusion of Black Urban Farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Carla Thomas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Carla Thomas
\n<\/strong>Truth Contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

The controversy surrounding the Al Peake & Sons pop-up market is bigger than carrots and collard greens. It exposes how the City of Toledo repeatedly makes decisions for Black communities without meaningfully involving the people already living, working, investing and building within them.<\/p>\n

This is what institutional racism looks like. It does not always announce itself with racial slurs or openly discriminatory policies; sometimes it looks like a \u201ccommunity-centered\u201d project designed without the Black businesses already serving that community.<\/p>\n

The Real Issue Is Not the Pop-Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not an argument against bringing fresh food into the neighborhood. The issue is that the city created a produce market in the heart of a Black community while overlooking thriving Black urban farmers already operating nearby.<\/p>\n

SONIA Organics, located at 619 Woodland Avenue, is approximately 2.3 miles from Swayne Field Shopping Center. Johnson Produce Market [David Johnson, owner\/operator], located at 524 Pulaski Street, is approximately 2.7 miles away. Mighty Organics [Thomas Jackson, owner\/operator], located at 1489 Milburn Avenue, is barely a mile away.<\/p>\n

These farmers did not suddenly appear when funding became available. They have served this community through its struggles, setbacks, and seasons of neglect. They built their businesses from the ground up, often while fighting for land, resources, recognition, and basic institutional support. They are not merely selling produce here. They are invested here.<\/p>\n

Who Benefits from the Community\u2019s Money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The city committed approximately $150,000 to this 10-week pilot project. \u00a0And Black folks\u2019 money will leave this neighborhood and benefit three non-local families:<\/p>\n

Keil\u2019s Produce & Greenhouse \u2014 Swanton, Ohio.<\/p>\n

Laux Farms \u2014 Monclova, Ohio.<\/p>\n

Bauman Orchards \u2014 Rittman, Ohio.<\/p>\n

This is laughable. Black dollars will leave the Black community to help build these farms, support these families, put their children through college and help fund whatever dreams they have for the next generation.<\/p>\n

And to everyone who keeps referencing the RFP, you\u2019re missing the point. The city designed an RFP seeking one vendor capable of planning, launching, operating, and evaluating the entire market, including distribution, staffing, food safety, merchandising, payment processing, and reporting.<\/p>\n

Even if the Black urban farmers had seen the RFP, the whole structure favored a large, established operation. The city claims, \u201cWe remain committed to uplifting our small, local businesses.\u201d I call BS. If that commitment were real, why didn\u2019t the city create a model that allowed local farmers to provide the produce while another organization handled the market\u2019s operations? The RFP included paperwork for primary contractors and subcontractors, yet it did not require the selected vendor to partner with, purchase from or subcontract with neighborhood growers.<\/p>\n

In other words, this entire model was never designed with local growers in mind. Our Black farmers were not merely overlooked during the bidding process; they were excluded when the city decided what the project would look like.<\/p>\n

So, my question is why would the city create a project that required one entity to do everything instead of designing one that built local capacity, divided the opportunity among urban farmers, and kept the money circulating within the community?<\/p>\n

Because the City Sees US as a Project, Not a Partner<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll tell you why. Because the city does not see the Black community as equal contributors, business owners and taxpayers worthy of real investment. It sees us as a project, people who need someone to ride in on a white horse and save us.<\/p>\n

When I stopped by the Al Peake Pop-Up Market on opening day, the whole aesthetic was giving mission trip to the inner city: \u201cLet\u2019s bring the poor Black folks some nice fresh fruits and vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, thriving Black farmers are operating less than three miles away from the location.<\/p>\n

Now Make This Make Sense<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the community raised questions, the city apologized, saying the RFP \u201cdidn\u2019t reach many farmers and food producers who may have been eligible\u201d and called the situation one of the \u201chiccups\u201d of a new program.<\/p>\n

Hiccup my arse.<\/p>\n

Roslyn Clemens, the city\u2019s chief of housing and neighborhood sustainability, told The Toledo Blade<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t do any outreach \u2026 We didn\u2019t do any outreach prior, to make sure as many people [knew].\u201d<\/p>\n

But Philip Peake told The Blade<\/em> that the city reached out to him directly:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about a year, maybe even a year and a half ago, that they reached out, mentioning that they\u2019re redeveloping that plaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, which is it? The city did not outreach, yet it reached out to an outside vendor as much as a year and a half ago. A year-long process is not a hiccup, and it is not an RFP that simply \u201cdidn\u2019t reach\u201d enough people. The city knew how to reach the business it wanted.<\/p>\n

You claim to remain committed to uplifting our small, local businesses and removing barriers that prevent them from competing, yet you created the biggest barrier: local farmers cannot compete for an opportunity they were never told existed and that was never designed for them in the first place.<\/p>\n

What Happens Now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In its apology, the city announced that it would \u201ccourse-correct\u201d by opening an opportunity for additional local food producers and providers to participate in the remaining Saturday events through the end of October.<\/p>\n

This is not inclusion. This is afterthought and crumbs. You want to now invite Black urban farmers in after the contract has been given to a white company and white non-local farmers and call it good.<\/p>\n

WE DO NOT ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY CITY OF TOLEDO<\/p>\n

This cannot end with a Facebook apology, a few late invitations, or another promise to \u201cdo better.\u201d The community deserves a public forum, full transparency, and direct answers.<\/p>\n