Legacies of Resilience: Black People, Nature, and Community

Legacies of Resilience: Black People, Nature, and Community

On a chilly Fall evening, several AWS staff members and interested members of the public gathered on the grounds of the George Washington House in a circle to listen to Fred Tutman and Akiima Price speak. The topic of the evening was Legacies of Black Culture and Resilience: The Patuxent and Anacostia Rivers. Fred Tutman, also known as the Patuxent Riverkeeper, spent many years working as a media producer prior to studying environmental law. He is the sole African-American waterkeeper in the United States. Akiima is a D.C. native who has advocated for environmental justice for stressed communities east of the Anacostia River throughout her career. She is the co-founder of Friends of Anacostia Park, where she continues to help expand programming, particularly as it relates to Restorative Park Engagement. 

Fred and Akiima are storytellers. We all sat enthralled listening to the both of them tell stories from their childhood, stories from their early careers, stories about the history of both rivers. The first question I asked them was about their relationships with their respective rivers throughout their childhood, and how that influenced their careers. Both Fred and Akiima had childhoods that were deeply connected to nature, and spoke about experiences they had through their fathers. Akiima shared that her father grew up in the south, deeply connected to the land, and passed that love and reverence of nature to her. Fred grew up in West Africa with a father who worked for the Peace Corps. He spoke about his experience living off the land because that was the norm there, as it is for many people around the world. Storytelling is a powerful mechanism to speak about our relationships with the environment. It showcases the interconnectedness of our lives and memories with the natural world, whether we are fully aware of it or not.

 There are many myths related to Black people in the U.S. and nature. That we don’t like to be outside, that we don’t like nature, that we can’t swim. Some myths have origins in truth, and the truth here is that historically, African-Americans have had a frayed relationship with nature. Many of our ancestors were brought over on ships across oceans to work the land as enslaved individuals. While many traumas have resulted from this that reverberate throughout African-American communities today, of note here is the trauma that has stemmed from distressing relationships with the natural world. This distress has evolved to industries dumping toxic waste into rivers that intersect with Black communities, Black people not feeling welcome in predominantly white outdoor spaces and activities, Black people not having access to nature-based experiences that are culturally relevant, and more. Throughout the conversation, I got the sense that Fred and Akiima’s work has been rooted in the naming and undoing of these injustices.

As the conversation finished, we all stayed a bit longer, gathered around the fire for warmth and chats, roasting marshmallows for smores. I felt a sense of community as I saw people chatting with one another, loosened up by the ease of listening to Fred and Akiima telling their stories. The takeaway being that community with all beings, from the humans to the animals to the water to the rocks, is what keeps us moving, despite the threat and reality of injustice looming.