Cal Ag Roots Podcast

"VOCES DEL CAMPO: CONVERSACIÓN DE LANZAMIENTO" Esta conversación previa con el equipo colectivo de Voces Del Campo marca el lanzamiento de la serie de tres historias. El equipo reflexiona sobre por qué lanzamos esta iniciativa de historia, la descripción de la serie, el proceso de producción comunitaria y los episodios programados para lanzarse entre febrero y marzo de 2023. Las conversaciones de Voces Del Campo incluyen entrevistas con nueve trabajadores agrícolas en Oregon y Jaime...

Join us for this end-of-the-year conversation between the current Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer, Dr. Caroline Collins, and former Cal Ag Roots Producer, Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, who is currently the Executive Director of the California Institute of Rural Studies (the parent organization for Cal Ag Roots). Caroline and Ildi reflect on the impact of stories like the Seeds of Change series, the Farmer Equity Act episode, the We Are Not Strangers Here project and exciting new community co-produced...

"THE WELL Honoring Our Elders." For this episode of The Well, we asked our listeners to join us as co-producers by sharing personal stories of how they honor their elders or ancestors. We recorded five personal stories spanning different regions in the state, including our youngest ever Cal Ag Roots storyteller–Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer Caroline Collins’ eleven-year-old son. This episode features stories from Alondra Santiago (Associate Researcher at the California Institute for Rural...

"THE WELL Landback Conversation with Keolu Fox." This in-depth conversation with Dr. Keolu Fox (Kānaka Maoli, or Native Hawaiian), Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Indigenous Futures Institute, digs into Indigenous futurism, which looks to indigenous technologies and ways of knowing as a path to stewarding and sustaining land for future generations to come (Photo: Keolu Fox. Photo source:...

"THE WELL Landback Conversation with Nicole Celaya." This in-depth conversation with Nicole Celaya, Co-Executive Director at FoodLink for Tulare County Inc. examines how ally organizations across the state can work to support Land Back efforts (Photo Credit: Original Artwork by Diana Morales, arteesmedicinina.com. Courtesy Nicole Celaya). The Well Landback Conversations include interviews with Dr. Brittani Orona (San Diego State University), Nicole Celaya (FoodLink for Tulare County Inc.),...

"THE WELL Landback Conversation with Brittani Orona." This in-depth conversation with Dr. Brittani Orona (Hupa, Hoopa Valley Tribe), Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University digs into the concept and practice of the Landback movement in California, including the deep history of native resistance in the state (Photo Credit: Klamath River. Photo Courtesy Brittani Orona). The Well Landback Conversations include interviews with Dr. Brittani Orona (San Diego...

SEEDS OF CHANGE EPISODE 3 “A Contemporary Harvest: Oakland’s Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm Project." Structural systems from zoning laws to the systemic loss of green space have disconnected many Black urban residents of California from agricultural practices. This episode examines how a community garden project in Oakland isn't just re-connecting local youth to the natural world and making urban gardens grow. Discover how it’s also re-planting seeds of economic empowerment in the process....

SEEDS OF CHANGE EPISODE 2 “To Free Ourselves We Must Feed Ourselves: The Hidden Legacy of the Black Panther Free Breakfast Program in California." In January 1969 a group of young visionaries at the forefront of the Black Power movement launched an innovative Free Breakfast Program for children in Oakland. In doing so, they didn’t just help shape public imagination about the possibilities of food aid. Discover how they also helped change the political will of the state and nation. (Photo...

SEEDS OF CHANGE EPISODE 1 "United We Stand: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Food Justice in Black Los Angeles’s Victory Markets." In WWII era Los Angeles a young Black preacher, Rev. Clayton D. Russell, and Black businesswoman, Charlotta Bass, launched the Los Angeles Negro Victory Commitee. In doing so, they not only helped plant seeds of today's food justice movements. They also helped radically alter the political landscape of the city with implications that continue to this day....

The passage of the Farmer Equity Act, California Assembly Bill 1348, in October 2017 was ground-breaking. For the first time, California acknowledged the racist patterns of systematic discrimination that have been common practice in governmental agricultural institutions which have impacted farmers of color in accessing the most basic thing that farmers need: land. This pattern has deep roots in California farming history through laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Alien Land Laws,...

Join us for this mini-episode conversation between the current Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer, Dr. Caroline Collins, and former Cal Ag Roots Producer, Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, who is currently the Executive Director of the California Institute of Rural Studies (the parent organization for Cal Ag Roots). Caroline and Ildi reflect on the challenges of producing community-based stories during a pandemic and give a preview of the next Cal Ag Roots episodes that will be aired in the beginning of...

We Are Not Strangers Here Ep. 6: “Still Here Black Farmers & Agricultural Stewardship in the Modern Age” Relationships to the land can be seen throughout African American history and culture. However, Black Californians haven't just long been connected to the natural world in the past. In our sixth and final episode of this series, discover how Black people's connection to the natural world continues to this day in urban and rural spaces across the state. (Photo: Will Scott Jr. at work on...

Sneak Preview: Episode 6, our final episode of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Still Here: Black Farmers & Agricultural Stewardship in the Modern Age” premieres March 9, 2021. Relationships to the land can be seen throughout African American history and culture. However, Black Californians haven't just long been connected to the natural world in the past. Discover how their connection continues to this day in urban and rural spaces across the state. (Photo: Will...

In 1908, African American pioneers established the town of Allensworth forty miles north of Bakersfield as part of the broader Black Town Movement. Discover how these settlers not only built buildings, established businesses, and planted crops--they also inspired the imagination as they tested what was possible in rural California. (Photo Credit: Teachers at the Allensworth School, c. 1915 [090-2156]. Courtesy California State Parks). This project was made possible with support from...

Sneak Preview: Episode 5 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “ Back to the Land: Allensworth and the Black Utopian Dream" premieres March 9, 2021. In 1908 African American pioneers established the town of Allensworth forty miles north of Bakersfield. Part of the broader Black Town Movement, discover how these settlers not only built buildings, established businesses, and planted crops--they also inspired the imagination as they tested what was possible in rural...

WE ARE NOT STRANGERS HERE EPISODE 4 “Independent Settlements: Building Black Communities in Rural California." Starting as early as the 19th century, Black communities--large and small, loosely organized and formal took shape across rural California. Discover the undertold history of California’s Black rural settlements including how these communities represent the tension between the promises and the challenges of living in the Golden State. (Photo Credit: Goldie Beavers, playing on a rope...

Sneak Preview: Episode 4 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Independent Settlements: Building Black Communities in Rural California" premieres March 2, 2021. Starting as early as the 19th century, Black communities--large and small, loosely organized and formal took shape across rural California. Discover the undertold history of California’s Black rural settlements including how these communities represent the tension between the promises and the challenges of...

WE ARE NOT STRANGERS HERE EPISODE 3 “Cultivating Change: African American Homesteaders, Innovators, & Civic Leaders." Black people have long cultivated the land in rural California. And in doing so, they’ve contributed to what we grow and how we grow crops in the state. Discover how early African American farmers and ranchers didn't just grow crops and raise livestock throughout the Golden State. They also cultivated societal change that helped make California what it is today. (Photo...

Sneak Preview: Episode 3 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Cultivating Change: African American Homesteaders, Innovators, & Civic Leaders" premieres Feb. 23, 2021. Black people have long cultivated the land in rural California. And in doing so, they’ve contributed to what we grow and how we grow crops in the state. Discover how early African American farmers and ranchers didn't just grow crops and raise livestock throughout the Golden State. They also cultivated...

Episode 2 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series is "Hidden Roots: Uncovering the Legacies of African American Homesteaders in California" premieres Feb. 16, 2021. One of the most impactful ways we come to know about places is through the stories we tell about them. Discover how Black people in rural California have been remembered--and forgotten--in the stories and landmarks that tell the beginnings of the Golden State. (Photo Credit: Farmhand and horse standing next...