In the first episode of Tending, host Shirlette Ammons begins a journey to reclaim her family’s legacy by exploring the largest civil rights lawsuit in U.S. history, Pigford v. Glickman, in which Black farmers fought against discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to save their family land.
About Tending
Hosted by award-winning musician and documentary producer Shirlette Ammons, Tending is a six-part narrative series that explores the ongoing struggles of Black farmers through the lens of Pigford v. Glickman—once the largest civil rights class-action lawsuit in U.S. history. Ammons—an eastern North Carolina native with deep farming roots—travels across seven Southern states to meet Pigford claimants and their descendants. Their stories paint a vivid picture of injustice and an ongoing fight for restitution.
Visit the Tending website here to learn more.
About Shirlette Ammons
Accomplished musician, documentary producer, and most importantly the granddaughter of a Black farmer from Eastern North Carolina, Shirlette Ammons has worked on the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning A Chef’s Life, Somewhere South, and May The Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story. Her 2024 self-released album SPECTACLES was named one of the year’s best by NPR’s Sound Opinions. More about Shirlette’s work is available at www.shirletteammons.com.
Tending features additional production from Andrea Weigl (A Chef’s Life) and Mosi Secret (Radical), with support from the Walmart and Kellogg Foundations, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.
