Ecowomanist wisdom for justice, faith, and the flourishing of humanity and the earth.
Preaching Black Earth is a groundbreaking collection of sermons, meditations, poems, and interviews that illuminates the powerful intersections of environmental justice, racial justice, and faith. With contributions from Bible scholars, pastors, ecowomanist thinkers, and political activists, this volume offers a profound exploration of how Black, Indigenous, and ally communities can craft new theologies to confront the urgent challenges of climate change.
The sermons, thoughtfully composed by those living out an earth-honoring faith, call readers to engage in environmental justice through everyday practices. The poetry inspires with its messages of cherishing the earth amid environmental crisis, serving not only as a source of hope but also as a model of contemplative writing practices that can be used as teaching tools in the classroom. The meditations and interviews foster creativity and renew the passion for justice among those committed to the intertwined struggles for earth and social equity.
This volume highlights the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on communities of color, where landfills, toxic waste sites, and other forms of pollution often encroach on Black and Indigenous neighborhoods. It showcases the historic connection between Black preaching traditions, activism, and stewardship of the land, as well as the ecowomanist focus on the interrelatedness of injustices. By centering the voices, wisdom, and methods of women of African descent, Preaching Black Earth offers readers an interdisciplinary, intersectional framework for understanding environmental ethics and promoting social and environmental justice.
Whether you are an educator, faith leader, activist, or seeker, Preaching Black Earth is an essential resource that equips communities to navigate the intersection of environmental justice, faith, and activism, ensuring that both humanity and the earth not only endure but thrive.
Contributors and conversation partners include Stacey Abrams, Sofia Betancourt, Heber Brown III, Christopher Carter, Elonda Clay, Katie Commons, Frances Roberts Gregory, Frederick Douglas Haynes III, John W. Kinney, Otis Moss III, Kenneth Ngwa, Liv Parson, Larry Rasmussen, and Gina M. Stewart.
Melanie L. Harris is Professor of Black Feminist Thought and Womanist Theology and Professor of African American Studies at Wake Forest University, and Director of the Food, Health, and Ecological Well-Being Program at Wake Forest School of Divinity. Harris is a leading scholar in ecowomanism, a poet, a professor, and a mother. She weaves her academic work with her artistry as a singer, researcher, and writer. She is ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal church. Harris is the author of many scholarly articles and books, including Gifts of Virtue, Alice Walker, and Womanist Ethics; Ecowomanism: African American Women and Earth-Honoring Faiths; and Faith, Feminism, and Scholarship: The Next Generation (coeditor). She is the founding director of The Ecowomanist Circle, a nonprofit organization dedicated to climate justice education and empowering ecowomanists and environmental writers.
