Abuse of soil, the atmosphere, and communities of color have gone hand in hand. Through reclaiming ancestral connection to the soil, Black farmers are healing the entangled harms of colonization, capitalism, and White supremacy and moving agricultural climate solutions forward in the process. 

In this episode, we feature an audio essay that wrestles with these themes. The essay is titled “Black Gold” by Leah Penniman, an activist, farmer, and founder of Soul Fire Farm. 

As Leah puts it: “In healing our relationship with soil, we heal the climate, and we heal ourselves.”

This is an excerpt from the audiobook version of All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, an anthology of essays, poetry, and art co-edited by Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

The audiobook version of this essay is read by award-winning audiobook narrator Bahni Turpin. 

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A Matter of Degrees is a production of Post Script Audio. For more episodes and transcripts, visit our website.