Online activism — especially on social media platforms with younger age demographics like Twitter and Instagram — hit a peak this summer in light of months of civil rights protests and a worldwide yearning for anti-racist education.
Here’s just one example from the popular Instagram account, @soyouwantotalkabout, which is known for its shareable slideshows on current issues.
One of the main critiques of the aesthetically-pleasing social justice slideshows that flooded feeds was that long-term, they would just become another post that people mindlessly scroll by, thus undermining the purpose of making them in the first place.
However, not all social media activism efforts are doomed from the start. DJ Freedem, a Georgia-born, New York-based artist, launched the Underground Plant Trade (UPT) initiative earlier in the summer. UPT is a digital platform that connects white people with Black individuals so the former can gift the latter plants.
The idea started from a Tweet in June, when DJ Freedem wrote, “If you're white give a black person a plant this instant.”
When UPT was in its beginning stages, each state had its own post on the Instagram account. On the post, white people in the area would comment what plants they had to give away, or Black people would comment which plants they were looking for. After a connection was made, the plants would be dropped off or shipped.
“The whole point of UPT was to open up the door for conversations about reparations and thinking about how we can get that started,” DJ Freedem said in an August interview with Document Journal. “Obviously a plant isn’t going to cure hundreds of years of racism and slavery, but it’s a good way to open that conversation. Black people weren’t allowed to have farms, let alone f-----g gardens. Our lands used to be burnt up and taken from us. We’re reclaiming that. It’s a way to reclaim our relationship with nature and the land. People have been trading plants as well as information and knowledge so it’s been really cool to see people connect over something green.”
Plants are also an important component in improving one’s health. Studies have shown that plants help people concentrate better and improve one’s attention span. Plants reduce stress levels and increase energy. Research has also demonstrated that the presence of plants accelerates one’s healing process. Gardening is often used as a therapeutic tool, and the physical act of nurturing a plant has proven to have positive mental health benefits on individuals who have experienced trauma.
“The main type of feeling plants bring, especially for me, is aiding with the fight against depression because it gives you something to do as soon as you wake up, and you have that feeling of knowing you took care of something and that you watched it grow, you watched it live and you watched it thrive,” DJ Freedem said in a YouTube video. “It’s just a very fulfilling thing to have.”
Created in the height of quarantine, UPT is a testament to the power of connectivity through social media, a tool that is important now more than ever. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus, a jump from the reported 32% in March. It is no secret that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Black individuals and other people of color — stress is known to have an adverse impact on the body’s immune system, and communities of color live with heightened levels of stress every day. It also does not help that on top of the pandemic, Black individuals are essentially forced to witness increased media coverage of police brutality against Black individuals, only exacerbating their grief.
A quick scroll on the #undergroundplanttrade Instagram hashtag shows over 300 posts of people sharing the plants they have received. Even more, the posts are filled with comments from fellow plant-enthusiasts, both budding and fully-grown, who leave tips on how to care for the plant.
“I'm surprised with how much it kept growing and the response it received,” DJ Freedem said in a Dazed interview in June. “Initially, I was surprised with how eager white people were to open their gardens and give away their plants to Black people. And how quickly such exchanges were made with no fuss.”
UPT’s Instagram page has been gearing up for the launch of the full website, which is set for Oct. 1.
We are in the midst of an empowering civil rights movement, but also during a time of severe isolation and declining personal health. DJ Freedem has created a critical community during a time that calls for meaningful change — not just a shareable PowerPoint presentation.
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