Free The Land: Establishing a Community Land Trust in Jackson, Mississippi

Originally from Belvidere, Illinois, Soad graduated from Northwestern University where she studied anthropology, psychology, and global health. On campus, Soad was an active leader in Coalition of Colors, a justice-orientated community organizing space for counter-hegemonic, oppressed-identifying students on campus. She also served as director of Food Day, where she coordinated events and panels on intersecting issues of food access, race, and class. As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, she researched how communities of color define and achieve food justice in a food desert in Chicago’s South Side, and analyzed how the interactions between Middle Eastern corner store owners and African American customers influence intervention programs designed to implement healthier food practices.