Black faces, white spaces : reimagining the relationship of African Americans to the great outdoors / Carolyn Finney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Finney, Carolyn, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Social conditions.

African Americans.

Human ecology--United States.

Human ecology.

United States.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (194 pages): illustrations

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill, [North Carolina] : The University of North Carolina Press, 2014.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

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. Drawing on a variety of sources from film, literature, and popular culture, and analyzing different historical moments, including the establishment of the Wilderness Act in 1964 and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Finney reveals the perceived and real ways in which nature and the environment are racialized in America. Looking toward the future, she also highlights the work of African Americans who are opening doors to greater participation in environmental and conservation concerns. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Bamboozled 21

Chapter 2 Jungle Fever 32

Chapter 3 Forty Acres and a Mule 51

Chapter 4 Black Faces 67

Chapter 5 It's Not Easy Being Green 92

Chapter 6 The Sanctified Church How Sweet It Is 116.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2015. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.

Other Format:

Print version: Finney, Carolyn. Black faces, white spaces : reimagining the relationship of African Americans to the great outdoors.

ISBN:

9781469614502

OCLC:

880354760

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.