Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land

Ecology of Childhood with Akilah S. Richards and Nicole Letelier What kinds of children does capitalism fear? What if raising children is not only about preparing them for the future, but about protecting ways of knowing that colonialism has spent generations trying to erase? What if children aren't simply learning relationship with land—but remembering one? And what might become possible if we trusted that remembering enough to let it guide how we parent, learn, and build community? Akilah Richards' work centers child liberation, self-determined learning, and family sovereignty, as well as aspects of tending to grief through land and our relationships with young people. She is the author of Raising Free People and the founder of the Raising Free People Network, a media and collaboration hub for her inquiries, efforts, findings, and community organizing at the intersection of privilege, parenting, and power. Nicole Letelier is the co-founder of Kamino del Sol Farm and Semilla, a land-based homeschooling community where children learn in relationship with land, seasons, and one another. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom, Clara AgborTabi, and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Learn more about Akilah's work at https://raisingfreepeople.com/ Follow Nicole's work at @semillafarm Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Find Clara AgborTabi somewhere offline! Follow zera bloom on bandcamp and instagram Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

Beyond the Gaze with Indya Moore and Wendy Flores In today’s conversation we’re exploring what happens when we refuse the gaze that measures us through extraction, conformity, and control. What becomes possible when beauty, gender, and worth are reclaimed through land, memory, and liberation? Indya Moore is an actor, activist, and visionary whose work illuminates the intersections of identity, beauty, and justice. Through storytelling and advocacy, they explore what it means to inhabit one’s full self, reclaim space, and challenge systems that seek to contain or measure worth. Their voice invites us to imagine a world where freedom, creativity, and sovereignty are not only possible, but lived. Wendy Flores is a youth worker at The Brotherhood Sister Sol, where they lead food justice workshops for young people from elementary through high school. Through hands-on lessons in healthy cooking, nutrition, and knife skills, Wendy empowers youth to build lifelong wellness habits and share that knowledge with their communities. Wendy also manages the seasonal Bro Sis Green Youth Market in Hamilton Heights, mentoring young people in running a farmers market while teaching them about local food systems, customer engagement, and healthy eating. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom, Clara AgborTabi, and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Follow Indya at @indyamoore Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Wendy at @wendeezy  Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Find Clara AgborTabi somewhere offline! Follow zera bloom on bandcamp and instagram Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

Between Borders and Belonging with Akwaeke Emezi and Susuyu Lassa Many of us come to land through rupture—through migration, through displacement, through histories that have severed, but not erased, our connection. So what does it mean to return to right relationship with land… when our presence is shaped by borders, by policy, by systems that were never meant to hold us? Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) is a Nigerian writer and artist whose work moves across boundaries of form, identity, and belonging. Rooted in Igbo cosmology and shaped by life between Nigeria and the diaspora, their writing explores embodiment, migration, memory, and the ongoing negotiation of self within and beyond imposed borders. Through acclaimed books including Freshwater and Dear Senthuran, Emezi invites us to reconsider what it means to exist, to belong, and to be in relationship—with land, spirit, and with one another. Susuyu Lassa (any/all pronouns) is a queer, Nigerian, creative alchemist at heart. Their work is rooted in liberatory social justice movement spaces, organizing with stakeholders across our food system to bring about structural and grassroots level change. Traversing two continents, Susuyu carries many worlds within them, translating what has been into what may be possible. Their labor is undergirded by the deep conviction that every single life is sacred, and when we work together we are resourced enough to choose interdependence and self-determination in defense of the sacred. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom, Clara AgborTabi, and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Learn more about Akwaeke at https://www.akwaeke.com/ Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Find Clara AgborTabi somewhere offline! Follow zera bloom on bandcamp and instagram Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

From Scarcity to Sovereignty: Fear, the Body, and Our Relationship to Land Our food systems, land relationships, and community structures mirror our internal landscapes. When we are organized around fear and unprocessed trauma, we build systems of hoarding, extraction, and control. When we metabolize fear, we can build systems rooted in reciprocity and care. Prentis Hemphill is the bestselling author of What It Takes to Heal, a groundbreaking exploration of healing, justice, and transformation. A therapist, somatics teacher, facilitator, political organizer, and writer, Prentis is also the founder of The Embodiment Institute and a leading voice in embodied leadership and collective healing. For over a decade, Prentis has worked with individuals and organizations through their most challenging moments of change—navigating leadership transitions, conflict, and the alignment of practice with values. Grounded in an embodied approach, their work ensures that our intentions aren't just ideas, but are fully lived, felt, and practiced. Nico Le Blanc is a co-founder of Unshackled Alchemy, an intergenerational, community-rooted, and ecologically regenerative vision of liberation-grounded in food and health sovereignty, healing spaces, and reciprocal relationships with the land, water, skies, and all beings. Guided by the wisdom, care, and radical imagination of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as femmes, queer, and trans ancestors, their work helps cultivate spaces of belonging, restoration, and collective possibility. Through the Unshackled Alchemy Land Project, Nico supports the creation of an intentional sanctuary in the Northeast that centers BIPOC land stewardship and invites community into practices of rest, healing, and expansion. Their work is an ongoing invitation to decolonize, disrupt systems of oppression, and remember more liberatory ways of being in relationship with each other and the earth. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom, Clara AgborTabi, and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Learn more about Prentis at https://prentishemphill.com/ Follow Unshackled Alchemy Land Project at https://unshackledalchemy.com/ Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Find Clara AgborTabi somewhere offline! Follow zera bloom on bandcamp and instagram Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

Welcome to Season TWO beloved community!   This season, we keep asking: What does it truly mean to be sovereign? Not just in theory — but in land, lineage, labor, and love. This episode is a compilation of voices from Season One — a mosaic of visions imagining Afrofuturist communities thriving in creativity, spiritual practice, and sacred care for the Earth. We asked each guest to paint a picture of the next world, and now we return to those visions — and listening, you’ll notice new connections, the spark of ideas taking root, and a sense that the future is something we can shape together. As a Black Mycologist, our co host Clara, has been learning from mushrooms this winter — how they connect quietly beneath the surface, supporting life we don’t always see. How growth takes time, happens in collaboration, and how decay and renewal are part of the same cycle.   Episode one explores those underground networks in a new way: through a compilation of voices, a living mosaic of visions imagining Afrofuturist communities built on creativity, wisdom, spiritual practice, and care for the Earth. Like mushrooms, these visions show how small, hidden actions can grow into something strong and lasting — and listening will leave you noticing patterns, possibilities, and connections you hadn’t seen before.   Featured Voices: Leah Penniman LeeAnn Morrissette Bailey Hutchison Junauda Petrus Ysanet Batista Patrisse Cullors Ayo Ngozi Yura Sapi Karen Rose adrienne maree brown Naima Penniman Hana' Maaiah   Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom, Clara AgborTabi, and zera bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Additional music for this episode by zera bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Find Clara AgborTabi somewhere offline! Follow zera bloom on bandcamp and instagram Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

In this podcast, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, we explore what it means to be sovereign. In this conversation, we look at ecocide in Palestine and across the African continent, and we explore seed saving as a path forward — a sacred act of preserving history and culture in the face of ongoing dispossession.  We know that colonization and occupation are not only political but ecological systems — from deforestation and monocropping to water theft and soil depletion. We share this episode as a seed of hope - nurturing the possibility of repair, return, and regeneration.   Vivien Sansour is the Founder and Executive Director of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. As an artist, researcher, and writer, she uses installations, images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations. She advocates for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. Vivien founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library in 2014, where she works with farmers in Palestine and around the world. As an extension of this project, she created The Traveling Kitchen - a social engagement project aimed at spotlighting conversations about climate crisis, food politics, and the imagining of new worlds.   Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Learn more about Vivien's work at https://viviensansour.com/ Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Follow zera bloom on social media at @zera.bloom Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

In this episode, we reflect on the importance of creating liberatory art and media rooted in oral histories. We explore how to honor our experiences through storytelling that is honest, ethical, and complete in the pursuit of collective liberation. LeeAnn C. Morrissette is a Black southern, multidisciplinary storyteller and cultural worker based on unceded Cusabo land (Charleston, SC). She has created for Oxford American, the Cornucopia Institute, Good Food Jobs, Nonprofit Quarterly, the Stacey Abrams for Governor Campaign, Blavity, Black Girl In Om, Honey Pot Co, The Highland Project, and most recently the National Black Food & Justice Alliance serving as the Director of Communications and Culture. Richie Reseda creates high-quality music, film and fashion that dismantles oppressive narratives and expands love in pop culture through his company Question Culture. He also cofounded and co-directed Success Stories, which is a transformational feminist program for incarcerated  men and was chronicled in the CNN documentary "The Feminist on Cell Block Y". Finally, He organized people who are impacted by mass incarceration to change laws and end it through Initiate Justice. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Watch Richie's film Songs from the Hole and follow him on social media @richiereseda Learn more about LeAnne's work at https://www.lcmorrissette.com/ Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Follow zera bloom on social media at @zera.bloom Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

In this episode, we root into questions of land, healing, and accountability. We explore how misogynoir shows up in our movement spaces, and how Black men are reimagining their relationships to land, to self, and to each other. Through reflection, care, and vision, we ask: what does it mean to build liberated futures without carrying harm into the soil? Bertram Williams Jr is an actor, voice artist and community advocate with urban agriculture as his medium. Williams is best known for his role as Woddy on Starz record breaking show, P Valley. He is also highly celebrated for his work as co-founder of Memphis based wellness co-op Mama’s Sundry. His latest offering is a collection of audio art including meditations, thought provoking readings, sound bowl activations and affirmations around Black men healing. Farmer D is an Afro-Indigenous farmer, media producer, and educator from New Haven, CT. Through Root Life LLC and Native Praxis LLC, he fuses sustainable agriculture, cultural media, and holistic healing to uplift Black and Brown communities. Root Life cultivates five urban farm plots, leads international retreats, and provides food justice education while training youth in culturally relevant farming practices. Native Praxis documents grassroots movements and eco-cultural projects through organic media storytelling. Together, his work builds community resilience, promotes ancestral knowledge, and inspires global networks dedicated to healing, empowerment, and sustainable systems rooted in Afro-Indigenous traditions.  Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Follow Bertram's work at @bertrambuilds. Find out more about Farmer D's work at https://www.rootlife.org/ or on social media at @root.life Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Follow zera bloom on social media at @zera.bloom Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

This episode, DEVOTED CREATORSHIP, invites us into a rich exploration of the universal languages that connect us all. We center the essential roles of storytellers, creators, and cultural weavers—those who thread vision into form—as we journey toward land sovereignty and collective liberation. Together, we’ll muse on art as sacred strategy: a vital force that not only stirs the soul, but propels our movements forward—calling us into greater devotion, expansive dreaming, and purposeful action. Naima Penniman is a devotee of seeds, myco-messenger,  multidimensional artist, soulful story teller, movement builder, medicine grower, healer, and educator. Life-long lover and defender of the Earth, Naima dedicates her creativity and community-building skills to regenerate practices towards planetary interdependence. Olka Baldeh is a Fulani storyteller, poet, farmer, bee-tender, herbalist and justice advocate. Olka has spent over a decade fighting against state brutality and advocating for liberatory social change. As a strategist for freedom, Olka uses her skills to uplift communities targeted by state violence, including Black, queer, and non-conforming people. Olka is the co-founder of Birdsong, an emergent radical land project in the south and she is also the founder of the Black Moon Podcast, a powerful platform that explores and interrogates Black death, aiming to transform how Black communities engage with and heal from the trauma of loss. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Find out more about Naima's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com/ and on social media at @naimainfinity Follow Olka's work at @hakkillo. Find out more and support Birdsong here.  Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Follow zera bloom on social media at @zera.bloom Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity

In this episode, NEIGHBORHOOD HEALER, we explore cosmic aligned herbalism. We’re diving deeply into the ways that cosmic patterns inform our relationship to medicine making, bridging heaven and earth -- as well as the ways that our medicine making practices can be rooted in liberation for our communities and sustainability for the land.  Trained in Eastern and Western Herbal Medicine, Master Herbalist, Karen M. Rose created an outlet for her teachings and healing modalities with the opening of Brooklyn-based Sacred Vibes Healing and Sacred Vibes Apothecary in 2002.  Her inspiration for this work began as a child in her native home of Guyana, where she was exposed to how African, Caribbean and Latin American traditions profoundly influenced plant medicine and community healing. The legacy of these lands is the foundation of Karen’s spiritual and healing practice. Yura Sapi is a visionary land steward, artist, and advocate for food sovereignty, blending Afro-Indigenous wisdom with sustainable solutions. As co-founder of Protectores de la Tierra, Yura uplifts Black and Indigenous agricultural traditions in Nuquí, Colombia. A Braiding Seeds Fellow and Echoing Green Fellow, Yura is committed to promoting ancestral knowledge, fostering cycles of harmony, and strengthening intergenerational connections to the land. Their leadership spans cultural resilience, agroecology, and regenerative economies, ensuring that future generations inherit thriving, self-sustaining communities. Yura’s work at Protectores de la Tierra honors the deep relationships between the land, spirit, and collective liberation. With a focus on revitalizing ancestral farming traditions, ensuring food sovereignty through agroecology, lunar-aligned farming, and communal stewardship. They also promote viche production (an ancestral drink, native to the Colombian Pacific, that is made from the juice of sugarcane stalks). Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is a series, rich in storytelling, history, and ritual, in which we explore what it means to be sovereign. With Black land at the center, this podcast brings together prominent activists, artists, and weavers with the rising generation of Black land stewards for inspiring conversations that honor the past and create blueprints for the future. This podcast is hosted by Crysta Bloom and Clara AgborTabi, and co-produced by Crysta Bloom and Zera Bloom. Our theme music is created by Naima Penniman and Zera Bloom. Our artwork and graphics is created by Crysta Bloom. Sovereign: Reclaiming Black Land is presented by Soul Fire Farm. Find out more about Karen's work at https://www.sacredvibeshealing.com/ and on social media @sacredvibesapothecary Learn more about Yura's work at https://yurasapi.wordpress.com/ on social media at @yurasapi Find Soul Fire Farm at https://www.soulfirefarm.org/ and on social media @soulfirefarm Follow Crysta Bloom's work at https://www.embodiedbloom.com/ and on social media @crystaembodiedbloom Follow zera bloom on social media at @zera.bloom Learn more about Naima Penniman's work at https://www.naimainfinity.com and on social media at @naimainfinity