New Perspectives on Black Ecology

A virtual roundtable

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. 7 to 8:30 p.m. (EDT)

In the spring of 1970, on the eve of the first Earth Day, sociologist Nathan Hare published a groundbreaking critique of the American environmental movement. Entitled “Black Ecology,” the essay argued that American environmentalism was too focused on the reform-minded concerns of whites, but nevertheless was “potentially of momentous relevance to the ultimate liberation of black people.” He then laid out an alternative vision for what a “Black ecology” could look like. In the years since, the continuing rift between African Americans and the dominant, national forms of environmental thought and activism have been so common as to appear intractable. But nevertheless, there has always been an alternative Black ecology. Using the fiftieth anniversary of Hare’s essay as a jumping off point, this roundtable will explore the various means and definitions of Black ecology historically and critically, and especially their salience for constructing a reparative environmental history into the twenty-first century.

Participants

Rob Gioielli, University of Cincinnati (moderator)

Justin Hosbey, Emory University

Tony Perry, University of Virginia

Allison Puglisi, Harvard University

J.T. Roane, Arizona State University

Teona Williams, Yale University

This event will be conducted live via Zoom. See the ASEH website for more information and registration information: https://aseh.org/event-3995402