Ypsilanti community businesses and organizations will join forces this Friday for a monthly potluck and Sustainability Film Series presentation of “Homeland.”
“Homeland” follows four stories of struggle concerning the Native American community fighting to preserve their land, and a call-to-action against the current dismantling of 30 years of
environmental laws.
Although the movie tells a rather disheartening tale, the event itself is cause for celebration. The Sustainability Film Series is a collaboration between Growing Hope, whose monthly potluck kicks off the event Transition Ypsi, and the Ypsi Food Co-op, which previously started the film series as an entirely separate event.
The Ypsilanti District Library recently became involved to put on this environmentally informative event. Ben Miller is a research librarian at the Ypsilanti District Library who helped put the
organization together. He is also an Eastern Michigan University alumnus.
“One day [the potluck and film series] fell on the same date, and there was so much overlap in who went to them they merged the two events and have been together ever since,” Miller said. “[Like] all the films this season, we tried to find ones that dealt with aspects of race intersecting with our discussions of sustainability that we always try to address.”
According to the website, the film’s topics are working to direct focus to community resilience and sustainable food and energy. The goal is to spread the urgency of implementing solutions in a changing world of less available energy, economic instability and a warming climate.
The number of guests has grown to at least 50, and these types of events are usually well received by the Ypsilanti community.
“Ypsilanti is the kind of place that’s inexpensive enough to live in where you can get types who want to try new, or very old and forgotten, things and there is enough of an overall sense of community to foster those ideas,” Miller said.
The event will be hosted at the Growing Hope building, which is located at 922 W. Michigan Ave. The potluck begins at 7 p.m. and attendees are encouraged to contribute a dish.
The film begins immediately after the potluck. Marie Schaefer, who is involved in Native American studies and anthropology at Michigan State University, will also speak during the event to provide a deeper perspective into the topics dealt with in the film.
The people in charge of putting on such an event are excited and invested in making Ypsilanti a more environmentally conscious place to live. Miller said he gets inspiration from the “Parks and Recreation” TV show’s Leslie Knope.
“I love how she often calls Pawnee the best city in the world,” he said. “That’s how I often feel about Ypsi.”
