Great news for anyone who has followed The Ron Finley Project on my blog or elsewhere: despite the big bank shenanigans that threatened to evict Ron and his beautiful community garden, Ron Finley fought wrongful eviction and won. This is a huge victory for communities and social justice. As Ron says, ““This is bigger than my garden. This is bigger than me, period.”
Back in World War 2, people planted victory gardens, turning lawns into food production and increasing self-sufficiency and healthy, fresh foods. Ron’s been fighting his own war in South Central Los Angeles — but his revolution is quite literally “radical,” from the roots. His garden teaches youth where their food comes from, how to grow it, and serves as a fresh source of nutrients and beauty in an otherwise food desert.
Thank you to all who donated money, time, Reiki, sharing and/or positive intentions and energy to help save the Ron Finley Project. You can read the details of this community triumph by clicking here. Victory is sweet!
Laura Bruno's Blog 
Posted by Sophia's Children on May 3, 2017 at 1:34 pm
Yay! This is great news. Thanks for spreading the word about it, Laura.
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Posted by laurabruno on May 3, 2017 at 1:35 pm
Yes, it’s a huge victory for all of us! Ron Finley is such an inspiration and bright light in this world. 🙂
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Posted by Eliza Ayres on May 3, 2017 at 1:53 pm
Awesome victory for a marginalized neighborhood!
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Posted by laurabruno on May 3, 2017 at 2:51 pm
Yes, to me, this is the real way to bring change — by empowering people to reclaim control over our own lives, beginning with what we put into our bodies and what we allow in our neighborhoods.
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Posted by A Happy News Bit: Ron Finley’s Victory Garden – Sophia's Children on May 3, 2017 at 1:55 pm
[…] Victory for Ron Finley: The Gangsta Gardener Redefines the Victory Garden […]
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Posted by Tracy Kruse on May 3, 2017 at 2:16 pm
Over the Moon about this success! Thank you for all the alert and updates!
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Posted by laurabruno on May 3, 2017 at 2:49 pm
Yes, a huge celebration is in order!
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Posted by Linette on May 3, 2017 at 2:33 pm
Woohoo! And the Light shines brighter!
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Posted by laurabruno on May 3, 2017 at 2:50 pm
🙂 !!!! Woohoo, indeed!
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Posted by Sky on May 3, 2017 at 2:56 pm
What great news! I think everyone everywhere ought to have the “option” to grow their own food. I once saw an apt dweller who took down the fence enclosing their very small patio and back yard which backed up to a huge multi-acre open field and created a HUGE vegetable garden that included some fruit trees, too. It was an astonishment to my young pre-teen eyes. I had never seen anything so unexpected and magical. Absolutely magical. This was in Houston, TX.
I have also seen very well-off people, extremely well-off, who had the husband’s elderly parents living with them, as is the custom in manyArmenian families, and the father had turned their entire back yard into a vegetable garden of many well-furrowed rows with beautiful roses lining all three sides of the backyard fence. this also was in Houston, TX. You would never expect to see that in the expensive neighborhood they lived in. But there it was. I had many delicious meals with that family based on fresh veggies from that hidden gem of a garden.
I also saw a Hispanic family in S. Calif who also had turned their entire back yard into a huge vegetable garden. Which they showed me with pride the first time I met them.
We may never know how many people grow substantial amounts of their own veggies and fruits. These back yard gardens are invisible to the casual passerby. Unless you are invited in the homes of these gardeners and shown the magical garden in their backyards, you would never know.
Ron created his garden LOUD and PROUD where the world could see. And one part of the world, instead of seeing it for the wonderful and magical gem it was, tried to crush it. That’s the world for you. Some in it are creators and others are crushers. So glad Ron and his fellow gangsta gardeners WON!!!
Sky
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Posted by laurabruno on May 3, 2017 at 2:58 pm
Thank you for this beautiful comment, Sky! So rich with details, and you’re so right on about it all!
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Posted by Sky on May 3, 2017 at 3:14 pm
And I saw those three backyard gardens literally decades ago! Full-on backyard gardens in which the entire backyard was turned into a vegetable garden, a veritable “mini-farm”, including lettuce planted sequentially to produce their own lettuce week after week.
One of my most memorable meals was one that included stuffed baby zucchini and baby japanese eggplants simmered in the most delicious tomato sauce, the seasoning of which was a family secret… I have revisted that meal many times in my mind with great fondness. Not just for the food but for the hospitality and friendship which was shown me so many times by that extended Armenian family. The combination of the meal and the company around the table with me is what makes it such a stand out memory for me.
One which I remember every time I hear, read, or think about backyard vegetable gardens.
Sky
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Posted by Dawn Vierra on May 3, 2017 at 5:11 pm
Reblogged this on Deer Heart Reiki Blog and commented:
Something to celebrate!! Congratulations 💥😁😘
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Posted by Sue Dreamwalker on May 4, 2017 at 4:00 pm
I had not heard of this, but this is an amazing victory for the rights to plant within a community.. I will now go read up.. ❤
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Posted by contramimi on May 5, 2017 at 4:21 am
Reblogged this on Illuminations Now!!.
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Posted by Incremental and Lasting Change: Create New Systems and Safety Nets Before Summoning Destruction | Laura Bruno's Blog on May 5, 2017 at 7:44 am
[…] « Victory for Ron Finley ~ The Gangsta Gardener Redefines the Victory Garden […]
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