This episode, WILD CURRENTS, explores Leah and Patrisse’s personal journeys to living in closer relationship with the Earth, their spiritual practices and how that supports their connection with the land.

Patrisse Cullors holds a multitude of well tended gifts as; an abolitionist, artist, and writer who co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement. Inspired by the beauty of freedom found in different planes and dimensions, Patrisse Cullors, has long been drawn to the unseen. The art that Cullors is making asks the viewer to witness the whole of their humanity,” Patrisse says Many of the works center around the sword of Oya, the fierce Orisha of transformation and Cullors’ own spiritual guardian, whose machete is embraced as a spiritual emblem of power, protection, and divine justice. Here, Oya’s sword transcends its historical significance to address the pressing narrative of our times — the need for protection and reverence for Black women.

Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol farmer, mother, soil nerd, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2010 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land. As Co-ED and Farm Director, Leah is part of a team that facilitates powerful food sovereignty programs – including farmer training for Black & Brown people, a subsidized farm food distribution program for communities living under food apartheid, and domestic and international organizing toward equity in the food system

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 Patrisse’s work at https://www.patrissecullors.com/ and on social media @osopatrisse

Learn more about Leah’s work at https://www.farmingwhileblack.org/ and on social media at @leahpenniman

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