Black Faces, White Places

Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans

to the Great Outdoors

Why are African Americans so underrepresented when it comes to interest in nature, outdoor recreation, and environmentalism? In this thought-provoking study, Carolyn Finney looks beyond the discourse of the environmental justice movement to examine how the natural environment has been understood, commodified, and represented by both white and black Americans. Bridging the fields of environmental history, cultural studies, critical race studies, and geography, Finney argues that the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, and racial violence have shaped cultural understandings of the "great outdoors" and determined who should and can have access to natural spaces.

Andre’s Unicept Drill: Notes on “Black Faces, White Places” Lecture

Please consider this map we call a “Unicept Drill”, as my attempt to see Dr. Finney’s lecture as one expression of multiple ideas.

For more information - Links:

Unconscious Bias Brenda Palms Walker Sweet Beginnings Greening Youth Foundation. Afro Outdoors Stories

Girl Trek Jim Crow. Emancipation Proclamation Sundown Towns Homestead Act. John Francis

Stories From the Civil Rights Movement - On Whose Shoulders We Stand

In this group you will find stories from remarkable people of all colors and ethnic backgrounds. Americans who played a role in the Civil Rights Movement of the past century. We are currently focused on capturing video stories, first person narratives from Black Lives That Matter. Ordinary Black Americans who have who have demonstrated extraordinary effort toward building their communities. To quote Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, we are in search of "On whose shoulders we stand" and moving forward, "What we stand for." If you are so inspired, please contact me to share your story.

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