A contingent of Black farmers from rural Pembroke Township gathered with supporters Tuesday in Chicago to protest a proposed Nicor plan to construct a gas pipeline through the heart of their underserved community near Kankakee.
Farmers cite environmental and safety concerns. It also would tie Hopkins Park to fossil fuels and, according to one senator,‘ threatens to replace the last community of African American farmers in Illinois.’
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Race, Poverty, Farming and a Natural Gas Pipeline Converge In a Rural Illinois Township
Leaders are pushing for a new pipeline, opposed by some, in what once was called the largest Black farming community in the Northern U.S.
By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times
April 23, 2021
Johari Cole-Kweli feeds her chickens on her farm, Iyabo Farms, in Pembroke Township, Illinois on April 21, 2021. Credit: Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
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Five years ago, the mayor of Hopkins Park, a Black, rural community in Kankakee County, Illinois, argued for building an immigration detention center there to boost the economy. The people who lived there said: No, thanks.