Food Justice and Sustainability Activist Advocates Food Sovereignty and Urban Farming in Detroit

<p>Tyler grew up in Philadelphia. She first learned about MSU when she was an undergrad at Penn State.</p><p>“I came to MSU because I was looking for a grad program that really centered all my interests,” says Tyler. “At the time I was pursuing agrarian or agricultural literacies among inner-city and urban youth. And I also was really interested in Black farmers. I did a summer program for undergraduate students at MSU that trained you how to do research and navigate the graduate school process. I came to Michigan State for the summer prior to graduating Penn State. </p><p>“MSU was a really good fit for me based on the curriculum of the department. And I had relationships with the faculty members and I was able to get funding for my graduate program. And so it was just a really good fit. Growing up in inner-city Philadelphia, I would consider myself to not be the prototypical urban child. I was very much into nature. I loved going to summer camp. I was that child who would run off into the forest to be with the trees instead of going to play basketball or jump rope or something like that. I was always drawn to the natural environment around me, hugging trees, digging in soil for worms, and studying the cycles of the moon. And I just stayed with that passion. I knew I wanted to do something related to food and the natural environment because that was my passion.”</p><p>Tyler says coming to MSU was a transition “because I jumped into the water by working with farmers. I wasn't familiar with agriculture much growing up in the city. I didn't grow up on a farm. I didn't grow up with a garden in my yard. It was a really new experience that changed my life for the better from so many angles.”</p><p>Part of what inspired her to learn more about where our food comes from was the birth of her daughter.</p><p>“Being a person of color, particularly a Black woman in the agricultural sector, I was usually the only person of color and or the only woman of color in my agricultural classes. And I always wondered why and