Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Michaela Tyus, Co-Founder of Feed the Block IE. Thank you so much for being here.
Michaela Tyus
Yes, thank you for having me.
Maya Gwynn
Of course. I found it really interesting that your first social media post was September 8, 2020 at a time when the pandemic had already exposed deep cracks in our food system. What inequities around food access in the IE have become impossible for you and your organization to ignore, and how did that urgency shape the birth of the collective?
Michaela Tyus
So we were founded in kind of like this mesh of of things that were happening in 2020, but really happened after the uprisings around George Floyd. So we were really motivated by seeing the gaps in our society and also in the help, right, that people were receiving or not receiving, and who was eligible to receive and who wasn't at that time. Myself and the other co-founder were really pushed into learning about like Pan Africanism, the Black Panthers, and we're like, what is something we could do other than you know go out and protest, which we had been doing for months, that is actually going to like make a difference in people's lives materially? And we were really inspired by the Black Panther Party and just their legacy of doing their morning breakfasts and yeah, exactly. So we were like, we're going to do something like that, right? And at that time, we were based in Ontario, and we just saw this rise of houseless people in our area, and we saw the nonprofits and kind of the things that were out there. There's so much criteria in order just to receive basic needs like food and water and shelter. So we're like, we're going to do something to like actually meet the needs of the people in a way to create sustainable change that maybe lasts longer than one-off protests. Just being from Ontario, talking to people that are you know experiencing houselessness, that are sharing with us the difficulties that they're having, and then also folks that are not houseless. Right? I think most marginalized peoples were really affected during COVID and the uprisings and this upcharge of racism and stuff. So that's kind of how we got started.
Maya Gwynn
That's amazing. Food is political, and who has access to fresh food, affordable food, and who doesn't often reflects the deeper systems of power in our country. How does your work challenge the politics behind food inequality?
Michaela Tyus
We always say like we're at a war with the state, right? And we're in current warfare. And one way to deplete the enemy is to not give them food, to not give them water, right, so that they can't survive. So for us, again, back to the Black Panther and their survival programs, we really see this as a way for our communities to survive. And basic needs is something that is often overlooked. And I think, especially at that time, it was a lot of like Instagram and a lot of like flashy activism that was going on. Yeah, like posting the black square and
Maya Gwynn
A lot of virtue signaling.
Michaela Tyus
Right, rather than like actually just going out and giving food to someone that needs it, so that they're able to survive another day. So that's kind of how we see it as like an act of political action, right? In a step towards liberation for marginalized peoples.
Maya Gwynn
And I really love this on social media. You acknowledge that Ontario sits on occupied Indigenous land, and you were also speaking out about ICE as early as 2020, before many organizations publicly addressed raids at all. How do land acknowledgement and immigration justice intersect with food politics, and what prompted that urgency?
Michaela Tyus
So for us, all of these forms of harm are all connected, and they're all from the state. And so, in order to really fight against one, you have to fight against all of them, right? You can't just pick one and the other. When we think about our native peoples, we really have to remember like where kind of all of that started with taking away native peoples' lands and sovereignty, and then also with African people and like slave trade. These are the two kind of epistemologies and groups that we look at of like a way to step forward into liberation, and so we see like liberation as indigenous people and Black people, African diaspora, the liberation of these two, which we could argue are the most kind of like the foundational oppressive systems that have kind of been built off of their oppression. We see that as the freedom for all marginalized folks and for everyone too, right? None of these things are new, so the ICE raids have been happening since you know before people were on social media posting about it. I think ICE itself was created in like 2002 so a lot of this stuff has always been there. And I just actually read recently about like the Fugitive Slave Act from 1850, that was we could argue really is the start of ICE and kind of this deportation. So yeah, all these things have been going on, and for us, we have to push back against all of them, or else it's not really true liberation.
Maya Gwynn
We're not free till everyone's free, right?
Michaela Tyus
Exactly.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah. Since 2020, your collective has publicly aligned with disability justice, fat liberation, and abolition. How have those communities shaped your evolution? And can you give me an example of what has been one of the most transformative moments in living out these values within your organization?
Michaela Tyus
Yeah, all of our values and all the things that we align with really speak true to like us as a group and all of our different aspects and different people and identities within the group, and oftentimes like disabled folks, trans folks, like fat folks are within these like margins that were often left out of when we talk about you know activism or whatever, and so we wanted to make sure that those are uplifted because they also represent people in our communities and also within ourselves. right? One of the best examples I could say that like lives true to the values is really the relationships that we've been able to create, not only with like you know the larger community or folks that maybe are aligned with us and don't necessarily need to be pushed, but also like our houseless folks itself, like this ability to stay true to your values, and that really comes out when we interact with them, and they tell us like you guys aren't just like any other charity that comes out, promises us stuff, and then we never see them again. Like you guys are here every other Sunday. You're building relationships. We speak to them in a way that is just like make sure that they're humans, right?
Maya Gwynn
Yeah definitely. We're gonna move to our rapid fire portions. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Michaela Tyus
I'm thinking of like a Kendrick Lamar... I can't think of an exact song, but something along the lines Dodger Blue, maybe just because the esthetic.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, I love that song. If you had to teach a master class or give a TED talk on a random skill you have besides the work you already do, what would it be?
Michaela Tyus
I love building organizations and structures. I'm like - I'm a Virgo, so.
Maya Gwynn
Say no more. You guys love a good list.
Michaela Tyus
Yes.
Maya Gwynn
And what's your favorite IE restaurant or landmark that reminds you of the Inland Empire?
Michaela Tyus
I love Gina's. It's in Rancho off of Foothill and Haven. It's like a brunch spot. It's so good.
Maya Gwynn
How can people keep up with your organization? Like, where are you? I think you said every other Sunday. Tell us how people can find you if they need your services.
Michaela Tyus
Yeah. So we do distributions every first and third Sunday in Ontario. So if folks, I would say the best way to get in contact with us is just via Instagram. And on Instagram it has like our email and etc. Folks can always DM us, message us, and we can coordinate along from there.
Maya Gwynn
What's your Instagram handle?
Michaela Tyus
Feed the Block_IE.
Maya Gwynn
Awesome.
Michaela Tyus
Yes.
Maya Gwynn
Thank you so much for being here. This is such a great conversation.
Michaela Tyus
Thank you for having me.
Maya Gwynn
Of course. Michaela Tyus is Co-founder of Feed the Block IE. Find this segment and others at kvcr.org/bpie. Support for this segment comes from the Mecca IE Fund at the Inland Empire Community Foundation, advancing racial equity and supporting long-term investments in Black-led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
