Events | Nourishing Justice: Jamiah Hargins & Ciani-Sophia Hoeder on Confronting Ecological Racism through Urban Farming

Thomas Mann House | June 22, 2024

June 22, 2024, 5 p.m. (PT) | Thomas Mann House Los Angeles (garden)

Join us in the garden of the Thomas Mann House for a conversation on the intersection of ecological racism, food justice, and community empowerment! Renowned journalist, author, and 2024 Thomas Mann Fellow Ciani-Sophia Hoeder will engage in a discussion with Jamiah Hargins, founder of "Crop Swap LA” and a pioneering figure in BIPOC urban farming and community development in Los Angeles.
 

Together they will explore the potential of urban farming practices as a form of resistance against systemic inequities. They will delve into how initiatives like Jamiah's Crop Swap LA are not only addressing food insecurity but also challenging structures of power and privilege. By examining the intersectionality of race, class, and environmentalism, they will talk about strategies for creating more equitable and sustainable food systems in Germany and the United States.
 
Founded by Jamiah Hargins in 2018, "Crop Swap LA" has grown from a small monthly neighborhood swap of fruits and vegetables, to a globally recognized institution and movement. They believe that food should be grown and consumed locally to reduce reliance on inefficient, water and carbon intensive global supply chains.
 
 

Attendance

By Invitation Only.

Participants

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Ciani-Sophia Hoeder is a journalist and author from Berlin. She studied journalism and politics in Berlin and London. In 2019, she founded the online magazine RosaMag, which addresses a variety of challenges faced by Black individuals in German-speaking countries. In her work, Hoeder celebrates Blackness rather than problematizing it. In 2020, RosaMag was nominated for the Grimme Online Award, and in 2021, Hoeder received the Golden Blogger Award. Her debut book Wut & Böse was published with hanserblau in 2021, and her most recent book Vom Tellerwäscher zum Tellerwäscher was released in 2024. She is a 2024 Thomas Mann Fellow. 

 
 

Jamiah Hargins is the Founder and Executive Director of Crop Swap LA. He worked as a stock and options trader in Chicago, where he also participated in a community garden. In Brazil, Hargins managed a social enterprise that leveraged rural agriculture and urban business to sustain an orphanage. Energized by the experience, and seeing first-hand what creative, mission-driven businesses can accomplish, he returned to the U.S. to study public policy at Columbia University and identify opportunities for impact. Along the way, he worked as an executive headhunter in the education field—a position that he says became excellent training for his work at building and managing Crop Swap LA.

 
 

 

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