Farming Freedom
- Directed by: Kayla Turner Thomas
- Released: 2026 (educational)
- Year of Production: 2024
The ups and downs of one Bolivar County farm family mirror the larger history of Black land ownership in Mississippi, and the relentless obstacles faced by formerly enslaved Americans in their pursuit of economic independence.
In the generations following the Civil War, this new group of Americans would fight to claim land as a path to freedom, only to face relentless barriers. Over the course of a century, more than 90 percent of Black-owned land would be stripped away or lost.
Drawing on lived experience alongside expert insight from historians, “Farming Freedom” examines the forces behind this massive loss, including mob violence, discriminatory federal lending practices, and the impacts of the Great Migration. Both illuminating and forward-looking, this documentary not only confronts the past but also explores present-day pathways to ownership, equity, and generational wealth, offering a vision of what can be reclaimed today for future generations.
“Farming Freedom” isn’t just for farm families that can relate, but for anyone with an interest in American history, the Southern Black experience, and the humanities.
Kayla Turner Thomas, a 2x Emmy nominee, has worked in local television for nearly 15 years. Raised on family land in the Mississippi Delta, Thomas is a proud product of Bolivar County public schools and studied filmmaking and journalism at Pace University, Westchester.
Her career in Louisiana and Mississippi markets has encompassed everything from serving as a showrunner, executive producer, media sales manager, and marketer to producing promotional materials, commercial ads, sponsored segments, and special-interest shows.
“Farming Freedom” is Thomas’s first documentary and was developed around an interview with her grandfather, Henry Harris, whom she initially recorded only to document their family story, but soon recognized the broader historical significance of Harris’s experiences.
Thomas is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.