Compost, Cotton & Cornrows
Compost, Cotton & Cornrows is a podcast centering Black sustainability leaders across fashion, agriculture, wellbeing and beyond. Through storytelling, culture, and climate conversations, the show explores how ancestral wisdom and modern practices can cultivate regenerative futures. Hosted by Dominique Drakeford, each episode unearths powerful insights that shift the narrative of environmental justice.
Compost, Cotton & Cornrows
Episode 12 | Beats, Bloodlines & Black Cotton: Julius Tillery on Reclaiming Cotton and Powering a New Era of Black Farmers
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 intergenerational strength that grounds his work, and how his land serves as a sanctuary for rest, resistance, and rural pride. Julius speaks on the financial realities of Black farmers, and how hip-hop has grounded his work in farming as both a lifestyle and a liberation tool.
With a specialty in using cotton in floral design and home décor, Julius is flipping the script on cotton’s narrative — and reminding us that the soil holds stories worth telling.
Compost, Cotton & Cornrows: the space where Black & Afro-Indigenous Vanguards are redefining sustainability through storytelling!
@Compost_Cotton_Cornrows