Black-Owned Farmers Market Overwhelmed With Community Support After Racist Vandalism
An act of racist vandalism targeting a Black-owned farmers’ market in metro Atlanta has sparked an overwhelming show of community support. Atlanta Harvest co-owner EliYahu Ben Asa said he discovered...
Black News 
An act of racist vandalism targeting a Black-owned farmers’ market in metro Atlanta has sparked an overwhelming show of community support.
Atlanta Harvest co-owner EliYahu Ben Asa said he discovered the N-word carved into a watermelon last month while preparing to donate it to a local community center.
“When I got out of the car and took a look at the watermelon, that’s when I saw the racial slur carved into it,” Ben Asa told WSB-TV. “I was taken aback. I was very surprised.”
Rather than letting the incident deter him, Ben Asa said it reinforced his commitment to serve the community through affordable, healthy food.
“It was disheartening to see, but it’s not going to stop us,” Ben Asa told 41NBC. “It was a horrifying thing to pull out as a gift. My intention was to give it away, but I’m glad that I caught it and no one else had,” he continued.
Ben Asa shared a video on Instagram talking about the incident, which went viral and prompted supporters to flood the Ellenwood market. WSB-TV reported that shoppers waited in long lines to purchase fresh produce in a show of solidarity just days after Ben Asa posted the video. One customer, Stephonie Wiley, said she drove 90 minutes to support the business.
“We saw it on social media, and one, it’s Black-owned, and we definitely want to support our Black-owned businesses,” Wiley told the local news station.
Another customer, William Jones, said the racist act motivated him to take action.
“It was demoralizing, and it saddened us to the point where we wanted to support.”
For Ben Asa, the community’s response has been far more powerful than the vandalism itself.
“We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” he said. “Our work is too important. The food that we provide to the community is too important.”
He added that he plans to file a police report and refuses to let the act of hate define Atlanta Harvest’s mission.
“This wasn’t something that I felt was necessarily a threat against my life,” Ben Asa said. “It was just somebody doing some evil that wanted to spread some hate.”
Ben Asa said Atlanta Harvest will continue to combat food insecurity by providing families with access to fresh, nutritious food.
“My father has always taught me to never falter,” he said. Never change. The work that we do is too important for us to be bogged down by any kind of bad situation.”
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