DeepSummary
In this episode, host Sapna Mulky interviews Frances Gregory Roberts, a PhD candidate in Society and Environment at UC Berkeley. Frances shares her upbringing, influenced by her mother's passion for the environment and feminism. She discusses how her diverse experiences living in urban and rural areas shaped her interest in geographies and the natural world.
Frances explains her path to pursuing environmental studies, highlighting key moments like attending Spelman College and participating in various internships and mentorship programs. She delves into her current research, focusing on the activism of women of color in frontline communities fighting against environmental racism and industrial facilities in Louisiana.
The conversation touches on topics such as participatory action research, integrating indigenous knowledge into environmental management, the challenges of being a Black feminist environmental ethnographer, navigating imposter syndrome, and the importance of mentorship and community support. Frances also shares her thoughts on destigmatizing mental health issues and the need for systemic change to address disparities in environmental justice.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Frances Gregory Roberts is a Black feminist environmental ethnographer and PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, whose research focuses on women of color's climate justice activism in Louisiana.
- She advocates for integrating indigenous knowledge and subjective experiences into environmental management practices, challenging colonial and Eurocentric mindsets.
- Roberts emphasizes the importance of participatory action research and building relationships with the communities she works with, ensuring their voices and solutions are amplified.
- She highlights the struggles and challenges faced by environmentalists of color, including imposter syndrome, anxiety, and the need for emotional support and community.
- Roberts stresses the role of environmental education in exploring alternative possibilities and addressing ongoing environmental crises.
- She encourages destigmatizing mental health issues and promoting systemic change to address disparities in environmental justice.
- Her journey exemplifies the power of intersectionality and the importance of amplifying diverse voices in environmental movements.
- Roberts advocates for mentorship programs and making policy discussions more accessible to grassroots communities.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “An eco womanist is a feminist environmentalist. And really, there's a lineage of different scholars and activists, such as Doctor Melanie Harris, even Alice Walker, the great writer, who've contributed to the development of this particular identity.“ by Frances Gregory Roberts
- “Decolonization is a process. There's so many scholars, so many organizers, activists who have written about this. I think for me, and I don't think it's a one size fit for all.“ by Frances Gregory Roberts
- “You have to be as a person of color, even. Not even just a person of color like, you just. There's an article I read once about how environmentalists are some of the most depressed individuals and alcoholics because we're studying how the earth is dying or communities are dying. So you really have to be conscientious about your emotional management and about a community of support.“ by Frances Gregory Roberts
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Episode Information
Breaking Green Ceilings
Sapna Mulki
6/30/20
Traveling from New Jersey to North Carolina, Frances was able to experience urban city living as well as life in a rural area surrounded by hog farms. Through that, she and her family remained tight knit as her mother inspired her from all angles. With the house matriarch as a teacher and enthusiastic environmentalist, Frances was able to get the support she needed to obtain a BA in Sociology & Anthropology, Environmental Studies & Science Minor, from Spelman College, and currently working on a PhD in Society & Environment at UC Berkeley.
With her degree, she has charged into the realm of scientific research in a noble effort to make positive material changes in peoples’ lives, particularly indigenous and communities of color who have been marginalized and silenced for centuries.
Frances’ current PhD dissertation focuses on Gulf Coast women of color’s climate justice activism and strategies to resist environmental racism while navigating contradictory relationships with energy and petrochemical industries. It is titled, “Post-Apocalyptic Environmental Politics: Women of Color, Climate Justice and State-Corporate Crime in Louisiana.”
Ethnography and Climate Change
Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. In contrast with ethnology, ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Described as community based research, or participatory action research, this is a feminist research method that focuses on non-invasive and minimal-extractive methods, empowering the community to be hands on and involved in every step of the process.
Frances’ life work is shaped by environmental justice geographies including Carolina hog and chicken farms, Jersey urban landscapes, and Louisiana petrochemical-plantation corridors. She currently lives and teaches on Indigenous land known as Bulbancha (i.e. New Orleans, Louisiana) that is historically home to the Chitimacha, Choctaw, Houma, Atakapa-Ishak and various other African and Creole Indigenous peoples, which is at high risk to experience adverse climate change effects.
Other Topics
Frances is incredibly inspirational and knowledgeable. From sharing the importance of mentorship and navigating imposter syndrome, to empowering everyday people to claim the title “activist”, to describing the different impacts of climate change for different people in varying locations, this week’s episode of Breaking Green Ceilings is going to leave you motivated and inspired to do your part.
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