National Land Justice Futures Meeting Visit to Detroit

Participants in the National Gathering of Land Justice Futures, meeting at Weber Retreat and Conference Center at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse spent a day exploring the “food hub” of Detroit and what it means for the food sovereignty of Detroit residents.

During their visit to Detroit on May 20, 2026, participants learned about various ways that organizations are working to repair harms caused to Black people through the years.

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Photograph of a group of bus passengers seated inside a bus with a woman standing in the aisle speaking into a microphone.

Brittany Koteles, Director of Land Justice Futures, explains the importance of Detroit as a city with a 78 percent Black population working on reclaiming justice for its residents.

Close-up of a red metal structure stenciled with "D-TOWN FARM" sitting on a wooden platform and situated on a grassy area with trees and farm buildings in the background.

D-Town Farm was the first stop of the Detroit Land Justice Learning Journey.

A group of people walking along a grassy path surrounded by green trees, with tents visible in the background..

D-Town Farm encompasses almost 8 acres of parkland, leased from the City of Detroit.

Participants gathered under a green and white canopy tent listen intently to a Black woman speaker wearing a black shirt and red skirt.

Mama Erin Preston Johnson, Chair of the Board of the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN), welcomes participants to D-Town Farm and speaks of efforts to address food sovereignty in Detroit.

Three people engaged in conversation outdoors under a tree, with greenery and a large hollow log in the background.

Pat McCabe, right, presents a bag of seeds to Mama Erin as a symbolic token of the need for food sovereignty. Aisha Ellis, left, has been involvedwith D-Town Farm since 2013.

Photograph of a small outdoor gathering under a green canopy, with three people engaged in conversation, one person gesturing to another, while the third woman stands in the background.

Dr. Shakara Tyler, center, Co-director of the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN), makes a point during a discussion with Mama Erin. Karen Leu, Director of Operations for Land Justice Futures, listens in the background.

A diverse group of people sit under a canopy, listening intently to a speaker not shown in the photo.

Participants in the Detroit Land Justice Learning Journey learn about the importance of food sovereignty.

A group of people walk past fenced-in raised gardens on a field of grass, surrounded by trees.

Quintin Reed, in the red shirt, an employee of the D-Town Farm, explains the need for raised beds for people who might not otherwise be able to work in a garden.

A group of people stand on a dirt path, listening to a man in a red shirt and shorts discuss the wooden art board behind him.

Quintin pauses in the tour of D-Town Farm to describe the ancestral symbols related to the natural world depicted on the wooden board behind him.

A yellow banner attached to a wire fence in front of two large black cisterns. The banner displays the quote, "There is no culture without agriculture," attributed to Elder Tarik Oduru.

Two large cisterns capture rainwater and a sign – “There is no culture with agriculture” by Elder Tarik Oduno – captures the significance of D-Town Farms and all urban farms in Detroit.

Three older white women sit at a table, engaged in conversation, while other people walk past them.

Participants in the Land Justice Futures annual meeting, from left, Sisters Kathleen Storms, SSND, Joni Luna, SP, and Gemma Doll, OP, discuss what they have learned.

People sit around tables, with the focus on a younger white woman speaking to an older Black woman.

Brittany Koteles, left, chats with Mama Desiree Ferguson, an attorney who served as principal author of the 600-page Detroit Reparations Task Force report. After lunch, she spoke about the report, and particularly on the various harms suffered by the Black community in Detroit.

A Black woman stands next to a countertop displaying photos and flowers and pours water into a potted plant.

Mama Erin demonstrates an ancient tradition of pouring a libation for ancestors that has been practiced throughout history, demonstrating the reverence shown to those who have gone before us.

A woman dressed in colorful clothes extends her arms as other women raise their hands in blessing in a room lit by a row of windows.

Mama Desiree accepts a blessing from the group after her talk on the harms to the Black community in Detroit. The hundreds of years of suffering were part of the nearly 600-page Detroit Reparations Task Force report, which also offered a blueprint for restorative justice.

A diverse group of women sit around a table covered by a black tablecloth as they engage in conversation.

Land Justice Futures participants, from left, Gabrielle “Gabby” Knox and Josmine Evans of the Joy Project, Sister Jessi Beck, PBVM, and Pat McCabe discuss their learnings.

Three women sit around a table looking at maps, while in the background other people are seated at other tables.

Beatrice Hernandez, FSJM, left, Shirley Justin-Wolff, a Covenant Companion with the Wheaton Franciscans, and (in the foreground) Mary Kay Louchart pore over maps depicting the locations of urban farms within the City of Detroit.

An outdoor sign points to the entrance of Detroit Food Commons, while in the background, a large poster attached to a fence depicts a group of brown and Black people working in the midst of a field of crops.

The entrance to Detroit Food Commons, which includes the office of the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network, the Mama Imani Humphrey Banquet Hall, and Kujichagulia Kitchens.

Produce section of a grocery store displaying various vegetables, including butternut squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, onions, and potatoes arranged in wooden bins and baskets.

The Food Co-op, part of the Detroit Food Hub, serves as a small grocery store in what otherwise could be a food desert. Several participants stopped at the co-op to buy snacks and baked goods to enjoy during the rest of their journey.

A woman speaks from a podium in a room surrounded by windows, while people at tables listen intently.

Gabby Knox introduces participants to The Joy Project, a community garden that invites people to “remember indigenous practices, taste rarely grown produce and hear stories about Black and Brown peoples’ current and historical relationship with the soil.”

Several people walking amid tall grass past a sign that reads “The Joy Project Detroit.”

Participants visit The Joy Project.

A group of people gathered outdoors, listening to a Black woman with long dreadlocks speaking and gesturing. The setting includes grass, potted plants, and a bus in the background.

Participants listen to a description of The Joy Project, which opens out on an altar, offering, and demo garden, focusing on recognition of the African Atlantic experience. The other three gardens serve as a “living land acknowledgment” and through their plants and design represent remembering of the past; reconciliation; and restoration.

A black woman with long dreadlocks wearing sweatshirt and jeans speaks outdoors in a grassy area.

Josmine Evans, curator and steward with the The Joy Project, speaks of the local area’s recent experience of becoming a neighborhood that could shape its own future. Listening to the right is participant Christine Albertini, an Associate of the Grand Rapids Dominicans.

Three women bend down to admire flowers in a garden labeled “Pollinator Habitat,” while a fourth woman stands back on the sidewalk.

From left, Sister Kathleen Storms, SSND, Rubina Martini, Jessica Bowen, and Jordan Trachtenberg admire flowers in the pollinator habitat garden at The Joy Project.

Two women stand outdoors on grass, engaged in conversation.

Abi Huff, left, Co-director of the Center for Ethical Land Transition, and Sister Kristin Peters, SFPA, take time for conversation during the visit to The Joy Project.

A group of people gathered outdoors on a grassy path, with two older individuals in the foreground embracing each other. The group is surrounded by grass and trees.

Participants take time after presentations on The Joy Project to observe the land around them and do some reflecting.

A group of people standing outdoors on grass under trees, participating in an activity or exercise. Individuals wear casual clothing with name tags, and two women in the center appear to be demonstrating or leading a movement.

Members of the group – from left, Gemma Doll, Jordan Trachtenberg, Kristin Peters, Karen Leu, Brittany Koteles, and Sarah Bradley – sing and dance as a way to alert the rest of the group that it’s time to board the bus and return to Adrian.

Six people walk outdoors in a grassy area with trees in the background, engaged in conversation.

From left, Eric Anglada, Alex Flood, Sister Kristin Peters, FSPA, Sister Gemma Doll, OP, Jessie Rathbun, and Nick Keehler share stories of their experiences during the tour as they walk to the bus.

Five people standing and conversing in a community garden with raised planting beds and two wooden sheds in the background.

Pausing at The Joy Project to discuss their experiences are, from left, Jessie Rathbun, Nick Keehler, Brittany Koteles, and Sister Mary Hroscikoski, OSF.

A large diverse group of people stand, sit, or kneel as they pose for a photo, surrounded by grass and trees.

Participants in the Detroit Land Justice Learning Journey pose for a group photo.