Sowing the Seeds of Transformative Justice

In this week’s blog Maya Jane Visconte ’25, Community Empowerment Activist (CEA), shares their vision for their final CEA project guided by the value of transformative justice. Keep reading to find out how the CEA program nurtures Maya’s passion for seed sovereignty and their active role at the USF Seed Library, demonstrating the importance of seeds’ well-being that tends to be overlooked. 

CEA is a space where we share love, passion, communication and understanding. This program has been such a transformative experience, especially working with the revolutionary professor Jackie Ramos, who guides us on the path of becoming capable visionaries. In this program, we learn to embrace transformative justice by examining the context of various forms of oppression, engaging within the work of the community, and by learning the skills of grassroots organization. This class is unlike most. We are able to apply the lessons of community building to our personal lives and within our paired internships. We learn to grow by embracing our ancestral roots, upholding community love and building with one another. This classroom embraces spirituality and lovingness within a cultural and academic conversation. 

For the final project in this space, I hope to uphold the seed sovereignty movement, sharing the importance and well-being of our seeds. Seeds embody life, longevity, ancestral knowledge and the notion of the commons. Seeds are not beings to be owned, sold or manipulated and yet, they face irreversible harm from the colonial, capitalist industry. Major corporations and various governmental systems are damaging the world’s supply of our shared sustenance and well-being. My time at USF Seed Library has allowed me to connect with various community efforts that fight for environmental justice and equitable land stewardship. From participating in farmer’s markets, teaching elementary school classes, and holding workshops, my work at the seed library connects to the lessons learned within the CEA program. 

This class, led by Jackie, embraces our interests and builds a collaborative curriculum. We learn to connect our passions to our identities, exploring where we come from to better understand where to go in this lifetime. I am so grateful for my time with Jackie and the rest of the CEA family. 

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