Continuing the Fight for Farmworkers’ Rights

Growing up, Skye Cronje (MHR ‘26) loved spending time in nature, from surfing, to water activities, sports, and spontaneous adventures. This stemmed after her autism diagnosis as a toddler, where her family and community members empowered her to get out of her comfort zone and seek out opportunities for growth. The mentorship and support she received would forge her commitment to community empowerment and engagement - and her passion for migrant and farmworker rights.

This year, Cronje received the Sullivan Ballou Award recognizing her passion and involvement with human rights. Supported by the Sullivan Ballou Fund and named after Major Sullivan Ballou, an Army soldier killed at the First Battle of Bull Run in the U.S. Civil War, the Sullivan Ballou Award recognizes students who devote heartfelt energy to human rights. Awardees provide compassion, services, or advocacy to their local communities, the poor, homeless, children, victims of violence and mistreatment or the disabled. Through her work with farmworker and immigrant communities, Cronje has demonstrated her heartfelt dedication to communities and human rights issues. 

As an undergraduate freshman at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, Cronje studied world languages and culture with a primary focus in Spanish, a secondary focus in Arabic, a minor in Latin American studies, and a certificate in community engagement. Cronje was also a part of the Bonner program, a program designed to involve students deeply in community service, and participated in service trips and volunteering that exposed her to the realities of how environmental factors are a root cause of migration and social inequalities in multiple immigrant and farmworker communities. These service trips inspired her to get involved in farmworker and immigrant justice movements, taking on several internships with Hope CommUnity Center and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, where she was able to do on the ground work and support the communities of Apopka and Immokalee in Florida through grassroots organizing. Cronje’s own experience of her father’s background as a South African immigrant also influenced her interest in the rights of migrants and immigrant communities.

One significant experience for Cronje was working with the coalition of Immokalee workers in Immokalee, Florida, during the summer of 2022. “During this time, I learned firsthand about what farmworkers in Immokalee experienced on a day to day basis and provided on the ground support to the local Immokalee communities,” Cronje says. Serving and living in farmworker communities, Cronje saw firsthand the effects of zoning laws, immigration policies, and environmental racism. She saw the day to day experiences of farmworkers and how human rights violations affected their work, their families, and their lives. “I have seen the effects of children of immigrant families, who are facing unknowns on a day to day basis,” says Cronje. “I have worked with children who struggle fitting in because of cultural differences, cultural barriers, language barriers, or other factors that are playing into their lives.”

After graduation, Cronje spent a year serving in a school in a predominantly Haitian and Hispanic immigrant community in Orlando, Florida. There, Cronje observed the impacts of zoning policies, labor exploitation, and environmental racism on children, prompting her to continue her involvement in the farmworker movement outside of her AmeriCorps service. Her experiences have taught her the importance of involvement in movements and making sure voices are heard and considered- especially when it comes to farmworkers, who often live in some of the most polluted communities and face severely harsh working conditions. 

These conditions are caused by environmental racism, Cronje says. Farmworkers are exposed to pesticides, and corporations often dump pollutants into their communities without hearing their voices or taking their living conditions into consideration. Environmental racism and farmworkers’ rights are intertwined issues: “They all go hand in hand,” Cronje says. “Environmental racism is perpetuated the same way that farmworker injustices are perpetuated, because it was completely designed to suppress communities.” The lack of consideration of communities from corporations perpetuates a cycle of environmental racism, poverty, and generational trauma, Cronje says. 

Human rights to Cronje means inclusivity and lifting a variety of perspectives and voices. “Human rights means ensuring that people are granted a voice and are empowered to make decisions to ensure that they have a prosperous future,” says Cronje. “They have the right to ensure that they are treated well and that they gain what they need to be able to thrive and live in prosperity throughout communities. We need to make sure that this happens. We need to fight, we need to involve people, we need to empower others, and support initiatives that ensure that these rights are protected and guaranteed.”

Cronje’s passion for human rights led her to the Master of Human Rights (MHR) program. Currently pursuing her masters and a future in grassroots organizing, community involvement, and mobilization, Cronje knows her work with human rights movements is far from over. “We need to be louder and we need to support our youth and ensure that they have a path towards impact, towards empowerment,” Cronje says. “I will not stop advocating for youth, I will not stop advocating for these communities that I have found a joy working with. Using my identity as an autistic daughter of an immigrant, I will fight for human rights and foster a culture of inclusion.” During her time in Minnesota and throughout his first year as a master’s student, Cronje has been involved in community movements, protests, and demonstrations that are about immigrant rights, workers rights, environmental racism, and much more. 

After being involved in so many organizations and so many different issues, Cronje has yet to decide on a specific path after graduation. But Cronje knows that intersectionality of different identity factors such as gender, immigration status, race, and accessibility will be a key focus in her career. “I want to foster this lens on ensuring our work environment is inclusive and that voices of all realms are being represented,” Cronje says. 

Through her work and dedication to migrant and farmworkers’ rights movements, Cronje has shown her commitment to lifting voices with an intersectional lens and her deep care for communities. Her compassion and dedication make her a fitting reflection of the spirit of the Sullivan Ballou Award recognizing heartfelt service to human rights. 

“I hope to inspire other people to take on these roles and get involved,” says Cronje. “I believe that anyone can make a difference regardless of their background, or regardless of who they are, or where they come from. Anyone can take action and follow their dreams. A world of inclusivity is possible.”