# Greg Asbed

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{{Short description|American activist and labor organizer}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Greg Asbed
| birth_place        = [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore), [Maryland](/source/Maryland)
| education          = {{unbulleted list|[Brown University](/source/Brown_University)|[Johns Hopkins University](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University)}}
| known_for          = [Coalition of Immokalee Workers](/source/Coalition_of_Immokalee_Workers)
| awards             = [MacArthur Fellow](/source/MacArthur_Fellows_Program)
}}

'''Greg Asbed''' is an American [activist](/source/Activism), labor organizer, and human rights strategist. He is the co-founder of the [Coalition of Immokalee Workers](/source/Coalition_of_Immokalee_Workers), a worker-based human rights organization based in [Immokalee, Florida](/source/Immokalee%2C_Florida), working to eradicate [modern slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_21st_century) in the Floridian agriculture industry. In 2017 Asbed was named a [MacArthur Fellow](/source/MacArthur_Fellows_Program) for "transforming conditions for low-wage workers with a visionary model of worker-driven social responsibility."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Greg Asbed|url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2017/greg-asbed|access-date=2022-01-10|website=www.macfound.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Scheiber|first=Noam|date=2017-10-18|title=A MacArthur 'Genius' on Overcoming Modern Farm Slavery|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/business/economy/macarthur-genius-greg-asbed-ciw.html|access-date=2022-01-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Asbed is a first-generation [Armenian American](/source/Armenian_Americans); his grandmother, Hripsimee, is survivor of the [Armenian genocide](/source/Armenian_genocide) who was forced into [Syria](/source/Syria). In a 2017 interview, Asbed connected this fact to his human rights work, stating "I have always felt a certain responsibility, as a bearer of DNA that was forged in the crucible of genocide, to the idea of universal human rights."<ref name=":0"/> 

Asbed was born in [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore) and raised in the suburbs of [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) His father immigrated to the United States from [Kobane](/source/Koban%C3%AE) to study nuclear physics; his mother is a pediatrician at [Johns Hopkins Hospital](/source/Johns_Hopkins_Hospital).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2017-10-12|title=From Immokalee Organizer to MacArthur Fellow: Meet Greg Asbed|url=https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/from-immokalee-paralegal-to-macarthur-fellow-meet-greg-asbed/|access-date=2022-01-10|website=Cornell University Press|language=en-US}}</ref>

Asbed attended the [Landon School](/source/Landon_School) and enrolled at [Brown University](/source/Brown_University). At Brown he studied [neuroscience](/source/neuroscience), graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1985.<ref name=":1"/> After college he spent three years in Haiti where he learned [Haitian Creole](/source/Haitian_Creole) and became involved with a peasant movement.<ref name=":0"/> Upon returning to the U.S., Asbed pursued graduate study at [Johns Hopkins University](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University), where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McDaniels|first=Andrea K.|title=Baltimore native and labor activist named MacArthur Fellow|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-hs-macarthur-fellow-20171010-story.html|access-date=2022-01-10|website=baltimoresun.com}}</ref>

== Coalition of Immokalee Workers ==
{{Main|Coalition of Immokalee Workers}}
After working with laborers in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Asbed and his wife moved to [Immokalee, Florida](/source/Immokalee%2C_Florida), in 1991.<ref name=":0"/> Working with [farmworker](/source/farmworker)s, they established the Coalition of Immokalee Workers; at the time of its establishment, the group was one of the nation's first centers dedicated to aiding migrant workers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vann|first=Karine|date=2018-01-15|title=MacArthur Fellow Greg Asbed on the Power of Organizing in Immigrant Communities|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2018/01/15/greg-asbed-power-organizing-immigrant-communities/|access-date=2022-01-10|website=The Armenian Weekly|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2"/> At CIW, Asbed led the development of the [Fair Food Program](/source/Fair_Food_Program) through which companies could pay a small premium for crop purchases in exchange for a commitment from growers to abide by a code of conduct relating to wages and working conditions; participating companies must agree to drop suppliers who violate the standards.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Greenhouse|first=Steven|date=2014-04-25|title=In Florida Tomato Fields, a Penny Buys Progress|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/business/in-florida-tomato-fields-a-penny-buys-progress.html|access-date=2022-01-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As of 2017, 90% of tomato growers in Florida participate in the program.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Lisa|date=2017-05-30|title=How America's 'ground-zero' for modern slavery was cleaned up by workers' group|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/30/world/ciw-fair-food-program-freedom-project/index.html|access-date=2022-01-10|website=CNN|language=en}}</ref> The Fair Food Program has been hailed for its success in combating [modern slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_21st_century) in Southwest Florida and hailed as an exemplary paradigm for improving the rights of farmworkers.<ref name=":2"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Burkhalter|first=Holly|date=2012-09-02|title=Fair Food Program helps end the use of slavery in the tomato fields|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fair-food-program-helps-end-the-use-of-slavery-in-the-tomato-fields/2012/09/02/788f1a1a-f39c-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html|access-date=2022-01-10|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name=":3"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asbed, Greg}}
Category:American people of Armenian descent
Category:Brown University alumni
Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni
Category:MacArthur Fellows
Category:American workers' rights activists
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Greg Asbed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Asbed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Asbed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.