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Episode Date: August 28, 2025

In Episode 17 of The Cause: Conversations on Music, History, and Democracy, Dr. Reiland Rabaka turns his attention to the politics of the plate—food justice. This episode digs deep into how access to healthy, affordable food is tied to democracy, power, and equality.

From the grassroots brilliance of Ron Finley, the “Gangsta Gardener” of Los Angeles, to Fannie Lou Hamer’s Freedom Farm Cooperative, the legacy of Karen Washington’s urban farming leadership, and the academic rigor of Dr. Robert Bullard, food justice is framed as much more than nutrition—it’s a fight for equity, self-determination, and community survival.

Dr. Rabaka unpacks how “food deserts,” or what he insists should be called food apartheid, shape lives and communities. This episode challenges us to see food not as charity, but as a human right and a cornerstone of social justice movements.

🎧 Listen now on all major podcast platforms or catch us on Radio 1190 (KVCU) every other Thursday at 7 a.m.

Key Voices in Food Justice

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977)
Fannie Lou Hamer was a civil-rights organizer, voting-rights activist, and grassroots leader from the Mississippi Delta who connected political freedom to economic independence. After years of voter-registration work with SNCC and national organizing—culminating in her testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention—Hamer turned to economic self-help, founding the Freedom Farm Cooperative to provide land, food, and economic resources to poor families in the Delta.

Selected projects & contributions

• Co-founder and leader, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)
• Founder, Freedom Farm Cooperative (1967) — community land, pig bank, and vegetable programs to address food insecurity
• Powerful national testimony and organizing that linked voting rights to economic rights

Recommended reading & resources

Ron Finley
Ron Finley, often called the “Gangsta Gardener,” is an urban gardener and community organizer from South Los Angeles who sparked a national conversation about food access by turning neglected public spaces into edible front-yard gardens. His work emphasizes food sovereignty, community health, and practical action—teaching that growing food can be a direct path to economic and civic empowerment.

Selected projects & contributions

• Founder, community gardening initiatives and the Ron Finley Project (South LA)
• TED Talk and public advocacy on guerrilla gardening, food access, and neighborhood health
• Public-facing programs and workshops that teach gardening as a tool for empowerment and local food sovereignty

Notable quote from this episode

“Growing your own food is like printing your own money.” — Ron Finley

Recommended links & resources

Episode 17 Playlist

• “Hungry Heart” - Bruce Springsteen (1980)
• “Strange Fruit” - Billie Holiday (1939)
• “Beans for Breakfast” - Johnny Cash (1981)
• “A Change Is Gonna Come” - Sam Cooke (1964)
• “Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens” - Anthony Hamilton (2003)
• “Green Onions” - Booker T. & The MG’s (1962)
• “Food, Glorious Food” - Oliver! Cast (1960)
• “Banana Boat Song (Day-O)” - Harry Belafonte (1956)
• “Eat the Rich” - Aerosmith (1993)
• “All That Meat and No Potatoes” - Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton (1941)
• “The Garden Song” - Pete Seeger (1983)
• “Yes We Can Can” - The Pointer Sisters (1973)
• “Hunger Strike” - Temple of the Dog (1991)
• “Bread and Roses” - Mimi Fariña (1976)
• “One More Cup of Coffee” - Bob Dylan (1976)
• “Cook With Honey” - Judy Collins (1973)
• “Gimme Some More” - Busta Rhymes (1998)
• “Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries” - Willie Bobo (1966)
• “Soup Is Good Food” - Dead Kennedys (1985)
• “Food As A Machine Gun” - Public Enemy/Enemy Radio (2019)

What did we miss on this playlist? Let us know: thecaaas@gmail.com