Black Ecology and Critical Environmental Justice

Murphy, Michael Warren; Weddington, George; Rio-Glick, AJ

doi:10.1089/env.2021.0024

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Socially, land preservation may be in conflict with economic interests or advocate for displacement of people, activities that commonly advantage the globally wealthy at the expense of the globally poor (Díaz et al, 2019 ) and contribute to perverse environmental injustices (Miriti et al, 2021 ; Montgomery et al, 2020 ; Murphy et al, 2021 ). That human displacement is entertained as an ecological solution reflects the legacy of natural historians positioning Europeans at the apex of the natural world and Western understanding as objective.…”

Section: Lessons To Inform Inclusive Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The history of natural history and race: Decolonizing human dimensions of ecology

Miriti

Rawson

Mansfield

2022

Ecological Applications

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Natural history, loosely defined as the observational study of organisms in the habitats where they occur, is recognized at the roots of ecology. Although the centrality of natural history in ecology has shifted over time, natural history is currently in resurgence: many again consider it to be the foundation of ecological and evolutionary inquiry and advocate the value of organism‐centered approaches to address contemporary ecological challenges. Educators identify natural history as the foundational entryway into the practice of ecology, for example in the Ecological Society of America's Four‐Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework. A strong natural history foundation can help generate testable hypotheses to refine mechanistic understanding of the drivers regulating species distributions and abundances and to inform restoration and conservation efforts. Given the resurgence of natural history as the foundation for ecological knowledge and practice, it is important to recognize that natural history has a long history of racism that has impacted ecological thought and priorities. This history shapes not only who conducts ecological science but also foundational ecological concepts. For example, natural history's emphasis on pristine nature untouched by humans disregards or appropriates stewardship and knowledge of most of the world's population. Because of the legacy of chattel slavery, this exclusion is particularly strong for people of African descent. This exclusion narrows ecological inquiry, limits the capacity to find solutions to ecological problems, and risks interventions that perpetuate the relation between eugenics, ecological knowledge, and natural systems. If ecology is to become an inclusive, responsive, and resilient discipline, this knowledge gap must be addressed. We here present the colonial and racist underpinnings of natural history and offer strategies to expand inclusion in the study of nature. Natural history was steeped in racism, providing a hierarchy of cultures and a taxonomy of races. Complementing growing interest in traditional and Indigenous ecological knowledge, we focus on Black ecological knowledge, for example in the study of “maroon ecologies.” Addressing the racist history of natural history is necessary for removing structural and racist barriers to diverse participation and expanding ecological knowledge bases in service of better and more just science.

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Section: Lessons To Inform Inclusive Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The history of natural history and race: Decolonizing human dimensions of ecology

Miriti

Rawson

Mansfield

2022

Ecological Applications

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“…Hare referred to the conditions as an “environmental crisis” resulting from social and spatial factors. While Hare introduced this concept, it was not yet posed through a lens of “environmental justice.” Murphy et al (2021) reinvigorate the discussion of Black Ecology, connecting it to the concept of critical environmental justice. They note that Black Ecology can be used as a method of radically transforming the socio‐ecological standing of Black communities (like Warren County, NC as described previously).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, critical environmental justice has pillars that are not necessarily inherent to traditional environmental justice. Firstly, there is the pillar of intersectionality (Murphy et al 2021). This describes how multiple marginalized identities can come together to create a unique condition of oppression.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second pillar is multiscalarity, which describes using methodologies and theoretical approaches that are multiscalar. Lastly, is the pillar of Horizontality (anarchism) and indispensability, which describes entrenchedness in society, reinforced by the state, and must be undone in order to make space for true and direct democracy (Murphy et al 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Call for environmental justice amplification among ecology scholars and practitioners: A Black Ecology perspective

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Martin

Leggett

2022

Bulletin Ecologic Soc America

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For many ecologists, who do not identify as environmental justice scholars, the idea of including environmental justice into their work may not seem intuitive. This piece provides an overview of the foundations of environmental justice as a movement and as a branch of scholarship. The authors provide suggestions for how ecologists can include this area of scholarship into their work. Through this article, the authors hope to bridge the scholarly gap between environmental justice and ecology, using the lens of Black Ecology.

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“…This is especially true as we face the impacts of climate change, which pose significant threats to the social and ecological relations that allow humans and non-human animals to live and flourish. Importantly, these ongoing disasters, while catastrophic, are rarely "natural"; instead, they are a result of subjecting global ecosystems, inclusive of minoritised populations, to logics of domination rooted in colonialism, imperialism and perpetuated by the (capitalist) state (Alagraa 2021;Ferdinand 2022;Murphy et al 2021;Pulido and De Lara 2018;Wright 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutual Aid as a Praxis for Critical Environmental Justice: Lessons from W.E.B. Du Bois, Critical Theoretical Perspectives, and Mobilising Collective Care in Disasters

McKane,

Greiner,

Pellow

2023

Antipode

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We build on the critical environmental justice (CEJ) framework by exploring mutual aid as a means of practising and realising transformative environmental justice that allows activists to build environmentally resilient and just communities beyond the state. We draw on the work of W.E.B. Du Bois, the Black Radical Tradition, and other critical approaches to demonstrate how mutual aid offers a meaningful point of conjunction for uniting ideological approaches to environmental justice that are often understood as being at odds with one another. To demonstrate this in action, we provide brief examples on the proliferation and longevity of mutual aid in times of disaster, including the 1927 Mississippi floods, Hurricane Katrina, the Nashville tornados, and the Texas power outages. Through these accounts, we seek to demonstrate how environmental justice organisations can and have advanced collective liberation using mutual aid as a critical orientation rooted in community based care and empowerment.

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Black Ecology and Critical Environmental Justice

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

The history of natural history and race: Decolonizing human dimensions of ecology

The history of natural history and race: Decolonizing human dimensions of ecology

Call for environmental justice amplification among ecology scholars and practitioners: A Black Ecology perspective

Mutual Aid as a Praxis for Critical Environmental Justice: Lessons from W.E.B. Du Bois, Critical Theoretical Perspectives, and Mobilising Collective Care in Disasters

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