URBAN EDGE FOREST THERAPY
  • Home
  • About
    • About Forest Therapy
    • About Urban Edge
    • Gallery
  • Walks and Events
    • Sign up for a Walk
    • What Can I Expect?
    • Why Do I Need a Guide?
    • Community Outreach
    • Testimonials
  • Trail Certification
  • Additional Resources
    • Books
    • At Home in Nature
    • Branching Out
  • Contact
  • Blog

OVER THE EDGE
The Hacker's Guide to Discovering Urban Nature


Photo: Courtesy Joel Sternfeld
(c) 2001 All rights reserved.


Racism Has No Place in Nature, Part 1

6/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The events of the past several weeks—the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor by police officers--exposes the extreme systemic racism and violence directed at certain human beings because of the color of their skin.

These deaths follow the horrific murders of Black people by law enforcement over the past several years--Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddy Gray, and sadly many more.

And these deaths overlay the wretched circumstances of the last few decades: mass incarceration, persistent discrimination, and lack of access to decent housing and environmental conditions, banking, education, and health care.

Which follow the shame of the past three centuries: slavery and all of its brutality and Jim Crow.

Racism is a human invention. It does not exist in nature. Yes, to quote Tennyson, there is the image of nature “red in tooth and claw”, a world of Darwinian competition. But that is different.

Nature does not discriminate, and there is much we can learn from our interactions with nature. How we admire the beauty of nature’s kaleidoscope of variation!  The rainbow of colors of birds and flowers; the alluring shades of green among plants; the stripes, spots, blotches, of mammals fill us with awe and wonder. Would we ever suggest that one hue of flower is to be singled out, castigated, and destroyed? Would we dare say that a blue flower is somehow less worthy than a pink flower, or that a yellow bird is less of a bird because of its tint?

And yet, all too often people of color find themselves viewed and treated as lesser humans simply because of their skin color. All too often the color of one’s skin can lead to a destiny that is diminishing, with opportunities denied, and futures destroyed.

This is a human invention, and we have the capability to remedy the widespread racism that has become impossible to “white wash”.  Let us learn from our encounters with nature to think no less of fellow human beings because of the color of their skin.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About this Blog

    Hi! I'm Nancy Kopans, founder of Urban Edge Forest Therapy. Join me on an adventure to discover creative ways to connect with nature in your daily life, ways that are inspired by urban surroundings that can reveal unexpected beauty, with the potential to ignite a sense of wonder.

    Want to be alerted to new blog posts? Follow me on Twitter.

    Archives

    October 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

    Categories

    All
    Animal Mineral Vegetable: Animal
    Animal Mineral Vegetable: Mineral
    Animal Mineral Vegetable: Vegetable
    Art & Architecture
    Earth Wind And Fire: Wind
    Fact And Figures
    Intro
    It's A Holiday
    Light
    Native New Yorkers
    Nature's Medicine
    Parks And Recreation
    Plant Medicine
    Pocket Adventures
    Space/Time Paradigms
    Urban Astronomy
    Water
    Weather
    Wisdom

    RSS Feed

Privacy
©2017-20 Urban Edge Forest Therapy LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Forest Therapy
    • About Urban Edge
    • Gallery
  • Walks and Events
    • Sign up for a Walk
    • What Can I Expect?
    • Why Do I Need a Guide?
    • Community Outreach
    • Testimonials
  • Trail Certification
  • Additional Resources
    • Books
    • At Home in Nature
    • Branching Out
  • Contact
  • Blog