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.

Hana’ Maaiah is a Palestinian-Jordanian nomadic farmer, beekeeper, educator, friend and organizer. Her forever fascination of Earth’s intersections in farming, energy, climate, race, politics and spirituality has brought her around the country. First, to Montana as a River Ranger, then Oregon where she studied Environmental Science and Agriculture, Alabama where she thrived as an Assistant Farm Manager and mentor in youth programs. In learning that “to free ourselves, we must feed ourselves”, she landed at Soul Fire Farm, starting as the Interim Farm Manager and currently serving as the Farm Education & Programs Manager. After almost a decade of farming and teaching around the country, she learned the urgent need to bring advocacy and care for the Earth from the fields to the streets.

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