When Crysta Bloom, Communications Manager, (she/her) reflects on her connection to land, memories of her childhood surface. She can smell the ripe sweet mangoes hanging heavily on the trees in Puerto Rico. She hears the song of the coquí frog. She sees her bare feet on the marshy wet Florida grass. Crysta remembers long walks at her mommy’s side. Watching as her mommy would gather leaves, smell them, and collect them in her pocket to brew for tea. Crysta feels the grief from the loss of connection to her ancestral Nigerian land. And pride in reclaiming Yoruba spirituality in adulthood. For Crysta, land is culture, family, and divinity.
Crysta is a birth worker, somatic embodiment practitioner, mother, and storyteller. Her body of work has revolved around creating writings and facilitating healing offerings that contribute to the liberation of the collective. She has a deep appreciation for the power of a unified community.