Building Power Rooted in Community: Reflections from HEAL’s 2026 School of Political Leadership 🌟

Building Power Rooted in Community: Reflections from HEAL’s 2026 School of Political Leadership 

Welcome to the first post in our 2026 School of Political Leadership (SoPL) blog series! This year, 10 food justice leaders are  building powerful advocacy campaigns that drive racial, economic, and environmental justice in our food and farm systems💡🌱✨

By: Sun Smith, Solar Community Farm

Living in Upstate South Carolina as a Queer Person of Color brews a sense of longing that can only be felt by those who experience it. This longing roots itself in community and in the Land. Without either of these, our lives would cease. Yet, many in our community feel disconnected from both.

With the forced removal and migration of communities of color, Land relationship is an ongoing connection that becomes harder to nurture with each generation. On top of that, due to generations of cultural erasure and systemic harm, those same communities are often the hardest on their lgbtq+ loved ones. This leaves our QTBIPOC people searching for a common place, and often finding that mostly in bars, nightclubs, or the homes of others like them. 

Solar Community Farm members, photo credit: MJ, Awakenlenses Photography

I came to HEAL’s School of Political Leadership (SoPL) with a sincere hope and vision for our Queer, Trans, BIPOC community to safely access community through land. My collective members and I are collaborating on a project called  Solar Community Farm, which centers the relationships that QTBIPOC people have with the food and land in Greenville, South Carolina.

We are working on a campaign to establish accessible growing sites for food and medicinal herbs throughout the city of Greenville, and are developing a fundraiser to purchase land deeds for long-term housing and growing space. With the support of SoPL, we are actively clearing misunderstandings in our strategy, solidifying our targets, zeroing in on specific details, and, overall, refining the minute details necessary to implement our programs. 

The fourth sessions, focused on field and base-building, grounded my understanding of the procedures for recruiting our base members. One-on-ones with people can feel uncomfortable for me, especially when I have an ask for them. However, Jose Oliva, HEAL Campaigns Director and session facilitator, offered guidance. He said we should identify a common resolution for a shared problem, rather than a mission I am trying to sell. With six steps outlined in detail, I now feel more prepared to ask for community support on our campaign. This relationship-building approach also aligns with me and transforms the way that I approach conversations in general.

Left photo: Two SCF committee members repotting herbs for free distribution in partnership with Aflorar Herb Collective Right photo: SCF committee and volunteers preparing the soil at a new backyard growing site!

During the session, we also engaged in a role-play scenario where someone from another campaign team and I were paired up to act as county government officials. We each took turns trying to persuade the other to support our campaign. This exercise further dissolved my fear of one-on-one conversations because the stakes were low, yet the dauntingness felt very alive. The feedback of my partner, who is more seasoned than I in conversations with county officials, was invaluable. 

All in all, these sessions are actively shaping my approach to campaign strategy and community engagement. Through this program, I am learning skills in five months that can take years to develop, and I am incredibly grateful to the HEAL team for believing in Solar Community Farm as much as we do. 

Looking forward, we have one more month of this program, and while I am sad that it is ending, I feel more empowered to address the needs of our community and shape the food and land scene in our region. In the last sessions, I want to solidify the contacts needed for our campaign and tie up any loose ends in our plan while we hold dedicated access to the knowledgeable minds at HEAL. 

About Sun Smith!

Sun Smith is a beginning farmer, budding cook and baker, painter, and lover of ancestral pathways. They are trans-nonbinary mixed-race Korean and white person who lives and grows food on the ancestral homelands of the Aniyunwiya/Cherokee peoples, colonially known as Greenville, SC. Their passion for life lies in understanding the invisible forces that move and shape our world. Through this fellowship, they hope to work on healing the wounds that exist particularly in the QTBIPOC and disabled communities, as well as their families. You can follow them @sunsmithoutside on instagram.