Example of Black Environmentalism in America

History and Transformation

Arising up black in a world of bigotry, bias, hatred, and judgment is an everlasting obstacle course. Many can offer consultation regarding the routes to take to avoid a bad interaction with the environment. In reality, however, nothing compares to the person who wears the armor and walks the battlefield every day. As a black woman, who identifies as disabled, and an environmentalist, my views will always be inspired by the experience in the battlefield. Also, other people’s experiences, literature, and many great black environmentalists sharing their skills and knowledge in our world.

​For starters, I would like to begin this blog of black environmentalism in America with Harriet Tubman, the unacknowledged first environmentalist. According to Roderick Frazier Nash, In Wilderness and the American Mind, he explains that Samuel Johnson, in 1755, defined the first meaning for wilderness as “a desert; a tract of solitude and savageness.” This same savageness is what Tubman and many other fugitives became skilled and knowledgeable of. Tubman maneuvered through many wildernesses as a channel towards freedom. Literature traditionally does not acknowledge the strength and history of the fugitives who went into the wild as their only route for freedom in the 1800s.

Consequently, this lack of nature sparked an unjust interaction with the natural environment within many black generations later in history. In the late 1900s, Evelyn White is a true hero for African American health. Evelyn was raised in a time when black people were served injustice even in the medical field. From the Tuskegee experiment which intentionally infected black people or when the HeLa cells of a black woman Henrietta Lacks were discovered and used to produce groundbreaking research for profit. These events influenced people like White to pursue psychology and sociology fields. White offered articles as an editor and writer for the San Francisco Chronicle that combated racial, sexual, cultural, and political factors. One of her more popular pieces, Black Women and The Wilderness, presents the historical events and factors associated with how she felt when encountering wilderness for her new job. White offers her perspective exploring Oregon and how she intentionally avoided going outside of her cabin because of the young boy, Emmett Till, a young boy beaten, lynched to death, and left in the Tallahatchie River. White addresses how the images on Jet magazine influenced her childhood and also the representation of nature. She addresses nature as not appearing welcoming. She claims that these events can create fear and ghoulish imagery.

Next, I would like to transition into arguably the most influential black environmentalist, Rue Mapp.
With Mapp, the perspective shifts about the wilderness from avoiding the wild to embracing the wild. Mapp influences many today by being the CEO and Founder of Outdoor Afro, which seeks to engage all individuals into the environment by hiking.
Mapp has sparked a transformative process for modern black environmentalists. Outdoor Afro enables black people to safely, comfortably engage in the environment. Mapp provides a different perspective then White, her perspective is groundbreaking, inclusive, and shows growth which is needed for the world today.

Innovative Fashion, Research, and Literature

On a different note, environmentalism exists in many forms. Some forms are creating sustainable and equitable fashion, research at the university level, and social media influencers. This next portion of the blog will briefly discuss the efforts of young women who do not get enough acknowledgment for their efforts towards sustainable fashion, research, and living. First, I begin with Maya Penn; at only nineteen, she is leading an eco-friendly fashion movement. I first discovered her efforts from an in-depth google search, in which I found a TEDx Talk in which she expresses her inspirations and plans with fashion. Her artistic abilities create a new outlet for environmental interpretation, and her fashion articles have inspired others to transition into more sustainable practices. Another guru for sustainable fashion is Dominque Drakeford. Co-Founder of Melanin and Sustainable Style, which blossomed into a platform that inspires people like me. This platform reminds me that it is reasonable to be ecologically conscious, and to be confident in my lifestyle choices, Drakeford has racked up thousands of followers and is influencing others to be sustainable with articles available to the public. Finally, Donnella Monk, Founder of Environmental Impressions For All, a blog that engages and encourages the public to have a better understanding of complex environmental concepts, policies. Environmental Impressions For All does this by providing free PowerPoint lectures, essays, vlogs, and photography. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Donnella is inspired by her experiences living in poverty, experiencing food insecurity regularly, and historically being socio-economically disadvantaged. After a local youth, Tamir Rice was gunned down by a police officer at Cudell Recreational Center, she set forth to pursue a career to combat structural violence.

Groundbreakers for the modern-day transformative processes

​This last section focuses on the accomplishments of three professional researchers that are actively influencing the research world with academia and community engagement. Dr. Robert Bullard, the father of Environmental Justice; this concept generates the foundation this world uses a basis for many arguments to prove that black people are mostly influenced by environmental degradation. Dr. Tony G. Reames works diligently towards energy justice at Michigan State University. Dr. Reames’s development for the infrastructure to combat energy justice concerns has positively influenced the lower-income community of Detroit with his Urban Energy Justice Lab. Finally, my mentor, colleague, and advisor Dr. Lemir Teron. Beyond his roles as one of the few black professors at SUNY ESF, Dr. Lemir Teron is transforming Syracuse, NY, by working on city development projects and ensuring they are environmentally positive to the residents. Dr. Teron diligently works to protect disadvantaged and at-risk environments. Most recently making an effort to implement air filters in the Syracuse community public schools with the school district. Dr. Teron influences the community by educating them about the I-81 development proposals at local libraries, conferences, and many platforms. From Dr. Teron’s efforts, many individuals will be able to find new jobs, have a safer route, and new opportunities within Syracuse.

References and CopyRight

• Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement By Robert Gottlieb
• Norton Book of Nature Writing
• https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm
• https://www.biography.com/activist/harriet-tubman
• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/
• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till
• https://www.nationalgeographic.org/find-explorers/rue-mapp
• https://outdoorafro.com/
• https://www.mayaideas.com
• https://www.donnellamonk.com
• https://www.dominiquedrakeford.com/
• https://drrobertbullard.com/
• https://seas.umich.edu/research/faculty/tony_reames
• https://www.esf.edu/faculty/teron/
• https://urbanenergyjusticelab.com/