January 2019–January 2020, Black with Plants will publish q and a on mental health + community building with botanists, college dropouts, horticulturalists, plant care specialists, natural hair experts, social justice advocates, sound therapists, etc. across the thirteen hardiness zones in the United States and African diaspora. What do you want readers to know about Toronto? psychological wellness? Or a creative project that you are working on? and the role of community building, and its impact on mental health? Toronto is a booming, liberal, diverse city. It’s truly been a joy living in Toronto and if I was going to have kids…
Latest articles
Black w/ Plants: Nutrition Q&A with Alexis Atkins
January 2019–January 2020, Black with Plants will publish q and a on mental health + community building with botanists, college dropouts, horticulturalists, plant care specialists, natural hair experts, social justice advocates, sound therapists, etc. across the thirteen hardiness zones in the United States and African diaspora. What do you want readers to know about Nutrition? Washington, D.C., + its Public Health? Or a creative project that you are working on? and the role of community building, and its impact on mental health? I want readers to know that obtaining proper nutrition education can be emotionally, mentally and physically healing. By consuming…
Black w/ Plants: Hiking Q&A with Kyla Peterson
January 2019–January 2020, Black with Plants will publish q and a on mental health + community building with botanists, college dropouts, horticulturalists, plant care specialists, natural hair experts, social justice advocates, sound therapists, etc. across the thirteen hardiness zones in the United States and African diaspora. What do you want readers to know about hiking? caring for plants + bees? Or a creative project that you are working on? and the role of community building, and its impact on mental health? Hiking can be an intimidating term for some people, but it can be as simple as taking the scenic route…
Learning from M5/L
Just over a year ago—March 5, 2018—antifascists converged in Lansing, Michigan to confront the white nationalists who were planning on attending Richard Spencer’s talk at Michigan State University. The successes of this weekend have been well documented: Richard Spencer cancelled the rest of his college tour, prominent white nationalist lawyer Kyle Bristow announced he would be…
Free May Day Book #8: The Anarchy of Colored Girls Assembled in a Riotous Manner
This year’s free May Day book—The Anarchy of Colored Girls Assembled in a Riotous Manner, by Saidiya Hartman—is finally on its way out into the world. It’s an 80-page sewn paperback, edited and designed by Crisis in collaboration with the author, and published in an edition of 1000 copies. Pick up your copy circa May…
Black w/ Plants: Erin Leigh Kiyoko Kobayashi and D’Real Graham on (Black w/) Plants, Health and Wellness
January 2019–January 2020, Black with Plants will publish q and a on mental health + community building with botanists, college dropouts, horticulturalists, plant care specialists, natural hair experts, social justice advocates, sound therapists, etc. across the thirteen hardiness zones in the United States and African diaspora. Leigh Kiyoko: I noticed over the winter, you turned 32. Happy belated birthday! The last year you also made a major career change: You went from serving in managerial, Chairman and Board Member roles within the non-profit youth and education domain for over ten years into creating W/Plants, a botanical shop based in Union Market, DC.…
Notes on Autonomy & Anarchism
I identify as an autonomist leftist largely based on personal experience. Autonomist can be used somewhat synonymously with anarchist — I use the term because peoples’ conception of anarchy usually = total chaos, which more often than not derails any further conversation about it. I was first introduced to Philippine nationalism when I was younger, but I’ve…
“Gardening While Black” Lawsuit Defendant Hires White Supremacist Attorney
A white Detroit woman who is being sued by a black man for fabricating charges against him in calls to the Detroit Police Department has hired a white nationalist attorney who previously represented white supremacist leaders. Court records show the woman, Deborah Nash, is represented by Clarkston-based attorney Kyle Bristow, who, among others, represented white…
We Always Knew
In April 2015, Terrance Kellom was murdered by an ICE agent who was part of a seven-member unit called the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Task Force. You’re in good company if the name of this “task force” brings to mind the slave patrols of earlier centuries. The unit broke into the home of Kevin Kellom, Terrance’s…
Message from Joshua Williams
It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains. —Assata Shakur Today I say, let’s lose these chains of having been victimized by the system. Let’s lose the chains of oppression. Let’s lose these…
Glenn Burke
We love our queer elders! Today is the opening day of the baseball season. This sport runs thru my blood and I grip with the realities around gender/overall team sport brutalities, but here’s a small ode to my favorite player: Glenn Burke from San Leandro, CA. Burke was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in…
Black w/ Plants: Sexual Health Education Q&A with LaMar Thompson-Hightower
January 2019–January 2020, Black with Plants will publish q and a on mental health + community building with botanists, college dropouts, horticulturalists, plant care specialists, natural hair experts, social justice advocates, sound therapists, etc. across the thirteen hardiness zones in the United States and African diaspora. What do you want readers to know about Sexual Health Education? Being a social worker? Or a creative project that you are working on? and the role of community building, and its impact on mental health? Working at a health clinic, as a social worker, has its ups and downs. Being a macro social worker,…
Black w/ Plants: Lillith Plant Shop Q&A with Starsha Valentine
January 2019–January 2020, Black with Plants will publish q and a on mental health + community building with botanists, college dropouts, horticulturalists, plant care specialists, natural hair experts, social justice advocates, sound therapists, etc. across the thirteen hardiness zones in the United States and African diaspora. What do you want readers to know about Lillith Plant Shop? Caring for plants? Or a creative project that you are working on? and the role of community building, and its impact on mental health? Lillith Plant Shop was founded as a creative outlet for me and a way to share my love of plants…
