Black women are a particularly vulnerable group in the Bronx. Today, we’re sharing the story of an organization founded by the ambitious mother of six, Tanya Fields. For nearly 20 years, she has been running various projects aimed at supporting the women and children of her community. Read on at bronxanka.
Tanya Fields — The Project’s Founder
Tanya Fields, 43, lives in the Bronx with her six children and her boyfriend, Mustafai, who is not their father but helps raise them. The family resides in one of the Bronx’s poor and underserved neighborhoods. The streets are often littered with trash, and people wander aimlessly, asking for money or food. There are hardly any grocery stores nearby, just a liquor store under her window. Fields wasn’t born into a wealthy family, doesn’t have a rich husband, and lacks a formal higher education. But despite these challenges, she is a vibrant and proactive individual—engaging in urban farming to grow produce for the community, fighting for women’s rights through her organization, the Black Feminist Project, and sharing her thoughts on social media.
Tanya has always been deeply concerned about the unfair treatment of Black women in New York. She finds the situation in medical facilities especially troubling. She faced numerous problems while seeking medical care for her children and encountered racism in hospitals more than once. For this very reason, Tanya chose to have some of her children at home, fearing that negligent doctors would provide substandard care in a hospital. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that Black women are 3.3 times more likely to die during pregnancy than white women, a disparity linked in part to racial inequality in healthcare.
Tanya and her family experienced dismissive attitudes from medical facilities again during the pandemic. Tanya and her older children became severely ill. Tanya’s 15-year-old daughter, Tristanne, who has a severe form of asthma, was hit the hardest. Fields recalls that they were initially denied COVID-19 testing and later refused treatment. Relying only on remedies from their home medicine cabinet, the family managed to survive the terrifying ordeal. At the time, Tanya said, “I truly feel such deep happiness right now to be alive. So those of us who have made it through have an obligation to create a world that will better support all of us. I hope I can do that.”
After the pandemic, Tanya Fields became even more active in implementing her programs within the Black Feminist Project, fighting for racial justice, and focusing on promoting her initiatives on social media.
Core Principles of the Black Feminist Project
Tanya Fields’ initiative, the Black Feminist Project (BFP), is dedicated to improving the lives and restoring the liberty, justice, joy, and health of Black women, girls, and non-binary individuals, as well as the children in their care. A primary focus of BFP is on single mothers. Tanya Fields is the founder and Executive Director of the Black Feminist Project.
The project runs a robust program centered on food and reproductive justice. It also provides every participant with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and take center stage in their own lives. This isn’t just about showing up to receive help. BFP is a supportive community where everyone helps one another and can take on various roles.
The organization works to improve the living conditions of low-income Black mothers and their children. Tanya and her team strive to provide communities of color with essential resources, like food and support, so they can live full and happy lives. Her goal is to enhance the well-being of families through economic and community-based initiatives.
All BFP programs are free and designed to actively involve participants, develop leadership skills, and support personal and community transformation.
Here are some of the Black Feminist Project’s programs:
- Consulting services for social and community issues;
- Online support for those who are ill or need remote connection;
- Community circles that help guide collective transformation;
- An HBCU scholarship;
- Online courses to create a safe learning environment.
Tanya also frequently organizes various themed events for children and adults. For every holiday, she tries to prepare small gifts and arrange entertainment for the kids.
The Makeshift Farm
One of BFP’s main activities is the work done at its small, so-called farm. In reality, it’s hard to call it a farm. Years ago, Tanya Fields simply took over a vacant plot of land near her home. The site once held an old, abandoned building with no clear owner. As a mother of six in a difficult financial situation, she came up with a simple way to save money on groceries in the summer. Tanya set up a small garden on the empty lot and planted some vegetables and herbs. She and her children would come to tend the soil and care for the harvest. For Tanya, it was a welcome distraction from daily chores. It also made it easier to feed her large family. Plus, the children were kept busy and spent their time productively outdoors.
Tanya admits she never thought she’d be able to farm right in the middle of the Bronx. She kept expecting someone to show up, tell her it wasn’t allowed, and demand land deeds or gardening permits. But no one came that summer, or the next. So, year by year, the makeshift farm grew and improved. After Tanya officially founded the Black Feminist Project, lawyers helped her secure the paperwork for the land and obtain all the necessary permits and certificates.
Today, all community members can use the “Black Joy Farm,” which now spans 5,400 square feet. Here, they can hone their gardening skills and grow fruits and vegetables. All of this delicious and healthy food is then distributed among the community. Women come here with their children, just as Tanya once did with her family. Only now, the BFP family is much larger.
The farm often hosts tours and receives visits from representatives of charitable foundations and other non-profit organizations. A few regular sponsors help with equipment, tools, supplies, and grounds maintenance. Besides gardening, other farming sectors are slowly developing at Black Joy Farm—there are already several coops with chickens and roosters. The site also features a convenient storage area, a sorting station, and a cozy relaxation zone.
The BFP Community Center
In addition to the garden, Tanya also has a space at the “Alice Fields” community center, named after a Black education activist who worked to improve her community in the 1940s. This center is used to sort and distribute targeted aid to those in need. This includes food packages, personal hygiene products, clothing, toys, and more. Anyone can bring gently used items to this hub, such as clothes, dishes, appliances, and children’s items (strollers, diapers, bicycles). Likewise, anyone in need can come to receive these items.
The Black Feminist Project also supports Black women in the community through a series of events and workshops called “Sis, Do You!” These meetings take various forms: creative workshops, conferences, guest speaker presentations, women’s circles, training sessions, and wellness practices. Many of these sessions are aimed at developing new skills and improving mental well-being, which can help transform participants’ lives and enhance their psycho-emotional state.
This is how incredible determination and purpose transformed one woman’s life and continue to change the lives of many others!
