Compost, Cotton & Cornrows

In this impact interview, Dominique Drakeford sits with Shani Peters and Joseph Cuillier, co-directors of The Black School in New Orleans, to explore what it truly means to build a Black-led institution rooted in care, love, and collective imagination. Drawing from the wisdom of bell hooks, Malcolm X, Paulo Freire, and the Black radical tradition, they unpack sustainability not as maintenance of b...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits with Niya Brown Matthews, a self-taught, first-generation farmer and community educator. Niya reframes growing as a practice of awareness and responsibility. The garden becomes a living classroom, teaching us to observe patterns, respect timing and respond instead of control. Sustainability, she explains, is bigger than s...

Jordan King steps into Compost, Cotton & Cornrows as proof that climate science does not have to be sterile, inaccessible or stripped of culture to be credible. Jamaican-born and trained in Marine Environmental Sciences and Biology, Jordan reframes the Everglades not as a distant wetland, but as a living system under siege by climate change, unchecked development, and disrupted freshwater flow...

Jazmin Duke enters this conversation like a wellness renegade dismantling everything we thought we knew about our bodies, our cravings and the colonial food systems that dictate them. She traces her journey from a painful menstrual cycle to a plant-powered lifestyle rooted in ancestral science, exposing the violent parallels between animal agriculture and slavery and asking a searing question: If...

Sherrell Dorsey enters this conversation with the certainty and clarity that sustainability is a return to our original intelligence and is the design lab where climate tech, capital, innovation and narrative control decide who gets to build tomorrow. In this episode she traces the ways climate action becomes transformative when rooted in storytelling, culture and technological fluency. Sherrell b...

Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, the storm still rages in our collective memory, not just as a natural disaster, but as a state-sanctioned genocide against Black communities in New Orleans. In this powerful conversation, Dominique Drakeford sits down with DAWN RICHARD who is an eclectic singer/songwriter, culture bearer and New Orleans native, to unravel the deeper truths of what Katrina expo...

In this vivid and electric episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford is joined by the incomparable Maya Penn — youth climate solutionist, award-winning animator, founder, and unapologetic disruptor shifting culture through creativity and care. Maya opens up about the realities and responsibilities of being a youth activist at the forefront of climate justice — carving space i...

What happens when you infuse radical transparency, ancestral ingredients, and community-rooted ethics into the beauty game? You get HanaHana Beauty—and a founder like Abena Boamah-Acheampong who's shaking the table with intention. In this dynamic episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford dives deep with Abena to explore the spiritual, political, and deeply personal layer...

What does it take to plant new roots on foreign soil—literally? In this global episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford speaks with Franklyn Hutchinson, a Trinidadian grape farmer living in Yamanashi, Japan. Without formal training, Franklyn carved his way into one of the world’s most meticulous agricultural markets—learning from local elders, YouTube, and an unwavering comm...

What if sustainability wasn’t about systems—but about freedom ? About waking up and choosing rest, joy, or stillness—because you can ? In this healing-rich episode, Dominique Drakeford sits down with Cory Elliott, the heart and visionary behind The Black Neighborhood —a powerful grassroots ecosystem centering Black joy, safety, nourishment, and liberation. Together, they unravel a definition of su...

What happens when a Black woman dares to silence the noise, leave behind the American Dream, and root herself in the wild unknown? In this soul-stirring episode, Naomi Grevemberg unpacks her decade-long nomadic journey—from the depths of burnout and depression to the liberating joy of living simply, intentionally, and on her own terms. We explore what it means to align with your values, reclaim th...

***Since this recording, the Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana—the heart of the documentary’s focus—has tragically burned down. In the wake of this devastation, the local community, in partnership with dedicated organizations, is actively working to rebuild and restore this vital cultural and economic hub. ****  What if your donated trousers did more harm than good? In this compelling episode of C...

This episode is for the freedom dreamers, the soil stewards, and the truth-tellers. Brea Baker—author of Rooted —joins us to crack open the spiritual wound of stolen land, unpack the real meaning of sustainability, and call in the ancestral wisdom that whitewashed greenwashing keeps trying to silence. We talk reparations—not the watered-down version, but the globally recognized, historically backe...

In this stitch-and-resist episode, Dominique Drakeford sits down with textile truth-teller and cultural strategist Hekima Hapa—founder of Black Girls Sew —to talk craft, confidence, and community. What started as a mission to sew visibility into a whitewashed industry has become a transformative nonprofit that’s training a new generation of fly, fearless sustainable fashion leaders before they eve...

Let’s be real—your “woke” t-shirt might be screaming liberation, but let’s take it a step further… Is it organically grown, ginned, spun, woven, cut, and sewn by Black hands that's economically building Black global supply chains? In this blistering and beautiful convo, Dominique Drakeford links arms with Seed2Shirt founder Tameka Peoples to expose the truth behind the cotton industry—and why...

What does it look like to build a thriving , profitable , and unapologetically Black owned grocery store from scratch—rooted in the soil, powered by the people, and driven by deep love for community? In this episode, Dominique Drakeford links up with the fearless Ivy Walls: a married queer Black woman, a visionary farmer, and co-founder of Fresh Houwse Grocery—Houston’s only Black farmer-owned, co...

In this vibrant episode, fashion stylist and creative force Brownie Brown unpacks her evolution from a fashion-obsessed kid in Nigeria to a sustainability-driven style maven in New York. We talk fast fashion, thrifting gems, and how True Cost documentary flipped her worldview. Brownie dives deep into how cultural roots, personal style, and self-work fuel her mission to help others reimagine their...

In honor of Black Maternal Health Week , we’re going deep into the sacred, radical, and healing power of Black birth with none other than Licensed and Certified Professional Midwife, Kiki Jordan . Kiki’s journey started with her own homebirth — and what it sparked was more than curiosity... it was a calling . Through her 20+ years of midwifery care, she’s built a wellness ecosystem rooted in ances...

In this episode, we dig into the reclamation of cotton with Julius Tillery, a fifth-generation Black cotton farmer and unapologetic advocate for Black agricultural futures. Based in North Carolina, Julius shares how cotton isn’t just a trauma drenched crop — it’s a calling rooted in his linage. A healing practice. A cultural archive. We explore the beauty and burden of cotton farming, the intergen...

We love a fresh set of braids—but at what cost? Science has spoken: synthetic hair is harming Black bodies and the planet, and Dr. Raven Baxter is here to break it all the way down. In this episode, we unravel the tangled intersection of science, culture, and sustainability to confront the hard truths: How do we divest from harmful beauty practices while honoring our history? What does it mean to...

Jamaica is more than sun-soaked beaches and reggae rhythms—it’s a frontline battleground where capitalism, colonialism, and climate injustice collide. Educator and climate justice activist Dahvia Hylton unpacks the hard truths about how tourism, bauxite mining, and corporate greed are gutting the island’s environmental and infrastructural integrity. From locals being locked out of their own beache...

Wanjiku Angela isn’t just designing clothes—she’s dismantling barriers. As the founder of Hisi Studio, a game-changing Kenyan fashion brand, she’s reimagining what truly inclusive and sustainable design looks like. This conversation isn’t just about fashion—it’s about revolution. Wanjiku breaks down how she’s weaving tactile elements, braille, research, and 3D printing into her creations, ensuring...

In this episode, Chelsea Murphy takes us on a journey through her deep-rooted love for the outdoors and how sustainability shapes her relationship with nature—whether it's in her backyard or deep in the backcountry. She shares heartfelt stories about helping her parents reconnect with nature, navigating the historical trauma that often lingers for Black folks in outdoor spaces. It's a po...

What if birth work and sustainability were two sides of the same powerful coin? In this beautifully bold episode, Nicole JeanBaptiste (co-founder of Sésé, Birthing Freedom) takes us deep into the heart of holistic birth work, community health, and the radical act of care. From the frontline of activism to the sacred spaces of home births, she shares why sustainability isn’t just about the environm...

Akintunde Ahmad is not just a designer—he’s a disruptor, a political poet, and a fourth-generation Oakland native with revolution in his DNA. As the founder of Ade Dehye, his work isn’t just about fashion—it’s about radically ethical design. Rooted in Oakland’s legacy of political defiance and sartorial swagger, Akintunde bridges continents, weaving West Africa’s ancestral craftsmanship with a fut...