Zakia Elliott

Zakia M. Elliott is an organizer, educator, facilitator, artist, and Philadelphia-native working within the intersections of the environmental justice, climate justice, and food and land justice movements. She is Co-Director of Soil Generation, a Black & Brown grassroots agroecology collective of women and farmers, and organizers working for food and land justice in Philadelphia.As an artist, Zakia engages in the transformative healing practice of self-reflection through self-portraiture. Over the years, she has cultivated a ritual of introspection through her figurative art and the exploration of various mediums to express her evolving self-conception. This artistic practice has been instrumental in regulating her emotions and navigating the complexities of her experiences as a Black woman striving for liberation and justice. Through her art, Zakia finds grounding in her spirit and truth.”I see my art practice as inseparable from my movement work and commitment to building toward liberation. My passion for self-portraiture is a radical practice of self-love and acceptance. I return to self-portraits and offer it as a tool to uproot the internalized capitalist pattern of perpetual striving for change, growth, and action—a mindset often embraced by many changemaking kinfolk—by encouraging stillness, vulnerability, and devotion through its creation.”