By Aya de Leon
On April 5th, Aya de Leon will be producing a free online conference, Black Literature vs. The Climate Emergencythrough the African American Studies Department at UC Berkeley, and we wanted to make sure it was on your radar.
Black Literature vs. The Climate Emergency celebrates the power of Afro-Diasporic fiction, non-fiction and poetry at the forefront of addressing the climate emergency by featuring contemporary Black authors from the US, Africa and throughout the African Diaspora whose work directly addresses these issues. Streamed via YouTube on Tuesday, April 5th, from 12PM-6PM Pacific Time/3PM-9PM Eastern Time, the event invites an escalation of literary efforts to document and imagine a successful movement for climate justice, as well as encouraging the engagement of Black communities.
Although the African continent and Black communities throughout the world are often hit “first and worst” by the climate crisis, Black leaders and authors are often sidelined in public dialogue about strategies and solutions. Black authors have a rich tradition of writing about nature, environmental justice, and more recently, the climate crisis. The authors participating in Black Literature vs. The Climate Emergency are building a collective narrative that Black people are needed to win this fight. The conference is free and open to everyone. We will have a live zoom afterparty.
Featured authors include: Emily Raboteau, Vanessa Nakate, Aya de Leon, Bernard Ferguson, Maya Lilly, Tory Stephens, Ashia Ajani, Kevin Aipopo, Coco Peila, Valencia Gunder, Aniya Butler, Kweku Abimbola, and Conrad Loyer.
Press release, media alert, poster, flyer and participant bios attached.
Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Democratic candidates for Georgia’s two senate seats in the January 5th runoff election. Donate, if you can.
Conference info HERE.
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