s4e8 – Rewind: Black Lantern Books & The Legacy Library
Cipriano Belser, Shizue Seigel, Micah Franklin, Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour, Celia Cruz, Arturo O’Farrill, Fred Wesley
s4e8
February 26th, 2026, April 30, 2026
Cipriano Belser joins Martha in the audio garden to talk about Black Lantern Books, in Englewood, California, which houses The Legacy Library, a collection of some 10,000 books curated by organizer, Kwazi Nkrumah. A co-founder of the bookstore, Cipriano shares the significance of the collection on Black Liberation, environmentalism and historical texts on fascism and civil rights and the backstory about this community hub for education, discussions, poetry readings and more. They have also begun re-printing some out-of-print texts.
Listen & Be Heard Intern, Micah Franklin offers his take on The Godfather, describing it as a family drama disguised as a crime epic in which loyalty is both noble and destructive.
From the L&BH Archives: Poets: Shizue Seigel & Joseph Jason Santiago LeCour
New Music: Hernán digs up live recordings with Celia Cruz, Arturo O’Farrill & Fred Wesley and the New JB’s, that you will only hear, here…
Martha gets down with her non-spending plans for her patio garden which include using what she has around her,. She confesses to her obsession with her paper shredder, planting pawpaw trees and her desire to grow food collectively.
CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Cipriano Belser. ALSO FEATURED: Micah Franklin. POETRY: Shizue Seigel, Joseph Jason Santiago Lacour, Martha Cinader. MUSIC: Exclusive live recordings of Jay Rodriguez with Celia Cruz, Arturo O’Farrill and Fred Wesley & the JB’s. ORIGNAL SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.
VIDEOS
FEATURED GUEST
-
Cipriano Belser – Co-Founder Black Lantern Books and The Legacy Library
Read more: Cipriano Belser – Co-Founder Black Lantern Books and The Legacy LibraryCipriano Belser is a low wage worker, turned Organizer, turned co-operative owner. Born and raised in the Bay Area, he has resided in Los Angeles for the last 15 years. In his time in LA he went from working retail jobs to becoming a labor organizer, which led him to want to use his organizing…
ALSO FEATURED
-
Shizue Seigel – Founder and Director of Write Now! SF Bay
Read more: Shizue Seigel – Founder and Director of Write Now! SF BayShizue Seigel is a third-generation Japanese American writer, visual artist and community activist who explores complex intersections of history, culture and spirituality through prose, poetry and visual art.
-
Micah Franklin Johnson – Artist, Producer, Athlete
Read more: Micah Franklin Johnson – Artist, Producer, AthleteMicah Franklin Johnson, an artist, athlete, and podcast producer from Brooklyn, embraces evolution in his creative journey. Raised in Harlem, he engages with the Summer Youth Program and finds inspiration in his explorations of Chinatown and Brooklyn, aspiring to impact the creative landscape despite his youth.
-
Meredith Leigh – Author, Consultant, Educator, Non-Profit Professional
Read more: Meredith Leigh – Author, Consultant, Educator, Non-Profit ProfessionalMeredith Leigh, with over 20 years in sustainability and food systems, has owned farms, a restaurant, and engaged in diverse consulting. An award-winning author of “The Ethical Meat Handbook” and “Pure Charcuterie,” she is transitioning back to the nonprofit sector while pursuing fiction writing in Asheville, North Carolina.
-
Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour – Poet
Read more: Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour – PoetJoseph Jason Santiago LaCour is a Spoken Word and Hip-Hop Artist from the Midwest now living in Santa Cruz. Since 2017, he has been a resident of The Tannery Artist Lofts with his partner and fellow artist, Rica Smith De La Luz. Together they form Sacred Poets, sharing their practice through books, prints, and apparel.
FEATURED BOOKS
-
Our Spirits Carry Our Voices Edited By Karla Brundage
Read more: Our Spirits Carry Our Voices Edited By Karla Brundage“Our Spirits Carry Our Voices is a remarkable work: a travelogue in poetry, charting a journey that is spiritual as well as geographic. The linked poems are intensely personal, yet filled with historical and political resonance.
-
The Society Of Spectacle – Guy Debord
Read more: The Society Of Spectacle – Guy DebordGuy Debord’s 1967 critiques consumer capitalism and modern media, asserting that social life is dominated by representations, or “the spectacle.”
-
Anarchism And The Black Evolution
Read more: Anarchism And The Black EvolutionThe Listen and Be Heard Hour features episode s4e8 on February 26th, 2026, discussing “Anarchism and the Black Revolution,” a pivotal 1979 work by Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin. This text connects Black radicalism to anarchist theory, examining issues of race, class, and liberation from an anti-authoritarian perspective.
-
Black Lantern Books & The Legacy Library
Read more: Black Lantern Books & The Legacy LibraryThe Legacy Library and Black Lantern Books is an effort to preserve the life long collections of texts that Kwazi Nkrumah started collecting in the 1950’s. Near the end of his life, Kwazi wanted to make his collection an accessible resource for future generations of organizers seeking to expand their knowledge and skills while working…
-
Bless The Blood: A Cancer Memoir
Read more: Bless The Blood: A Cancer Memoir“Bless the Blood” is a young adult memoir combining poetry and essays that reflects the author’s journey with leukemia. It challenges misconceptions about cancer and the healthcare system, while addressing intergenerational trauma. The work explores themes of violence, resilience, and systemic failures, highlighting personal and societal impacts.
SUBMISSIONS
Do you want to be heard in the garden? Please consider contributing your audio content. We grow together when we nurture our network. Click here for more information.
Please participate. Say something about this and be heard.