Kentucky activist honored by James Beard

By Blake Jackson

Jim Embry, a Kentucky native who has dedicated his life to food justice and social justice, was awarded the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award in 2023. The award recognizes Embry's more than 50 years of work in the food justice movement, as well as his involvement with organizations such as Sustainable Communities Network, Slow Food USA, and Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance.

Embry's interest in local and healthy food, urban agriculture, and food justice can be traced back to his family legacy as agrarian intellectual activists. He is the great-grandson of formerly enslaved African farmers who fought in the Civil War and became social activists in Madison County, Kentucky.

Embry became involved in the civil rights movement at a young age, and he continued to fight for social justice throughout his life. He was a student leader at the University of Kentucky in the 1960s, and he helped to find the Black Student Union and organize the annual Martin Luther King Day march in Lexington.

In the 1970s, Embry began to focus his activism on food justice. He was inspired by Dick Gregory, a vegetarian and social activist, and he helped to find the Good Foods Co-op in Lexington. Embry also worked to promote urban agriculture and community gardens.

In 2001, Embry moved to Detroit to become the director of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center for Nurture Community Leadership. In this role, he worked closely with Grace Lee Boggs, a Chinese-American philosopher and activist. Embry also helped to find the youth group Detroit Summer, whose work centered around urban agriculture, community art gardens, local food, and environmental justice.

In 2005, Embry returned to Lexington and founded Sustainable Communities Network. He has also been involved in numerous other organizations and projects related to food justice and social justice.

Embry's work has had a significant impact on Kentucky and beyond. He is a respected leader in the food justice movement, and he has helped to make Kentucky a more sustainable and equitable place to live.

Photo Credit: gettyimages-valentinrussanov