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