A month ago, I had the honor of presenting Dr. Angela Y. Davis with The Peace Abbey Award for her activism towards climate justice. You know, a regular Thursday.
It took me a month to even begin to process thoughts around this. As I begin to dive into Dr. Davis’ autobiography and other written work in the coming years, I know more thoughts will come from this moment as I really sit in how consequential this was. But for now, where should I begin?
Angela Davis visited Swarthmore’s campus and gave a public lecture which was attended by myself and the entirety of Swarthmore borough. After that event, Kylie Williams of AJA, an affinity group for Black women and gender expansive students on campus, coordinated a student luncheon with Swarthmore students specifically prioritizing the opportunity for Black students to ask Dr. Davis questions. The day of the public lecture I was in my room playing Tems’ new music video for her song “Turn Me Up” and dancing in the mirror, when I grabbed my phone and opened Instagram. As I’m mindlessly scrolling I see a message notification from my friend Billy pop up that just says, “Kaylaaa”. I saw that he was still typing so I kept dancing to Tems.
In my room at home, I have a poster of me holding up an Angela Davis quote for Black History Month at my high school. The quote reads, “We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” There were a bunch of quotes printed that day that I sorted through, but I decided to go with that one. It took me a couple of times reading it to understand what it meant, but once I did, I loved it. To me, it means literacy. It means that everyone should have the ability to critically think for themselves, to digest information, to be able to read, because that gives us the ability to understand others. Additionally, we cannot be physically free, but mentally bound by stereotypes and closed-minds.
They took that picture of me and other students to hang in the hallways for Black History Month and at the end of the year I snatched mine off the wall and smuggled it home (as if someone was going to yell at me for taking a picture of myself off the wall). I didn’t know what to do with it so I put it on the wall above my corkboard and it’s been looking down at me ever since.
When I saw the message seemed to be complete, I finally opened the inbox and saw that Billy asked little ole me to join him in presenting an award to Angela Davis at the luncheon. I wish I could tell you I remember my exact reaction, but just know that Tems was paused and I was gagged.
I think tenth grade me would find it absolutely insane that I’d go from holding a quote by Angela Davis, this abstract Civil Rights legend, to sharing an embrace with her and her now knowing my name (or some variation of it, she thought it was Michalea Miller briefly but that’s okay she can call me what she wants!). As I reflect on this moment, I want you all to know that I feel the things that you expect me to feel--Shocked, excited, happy, and a bit paralyzed with disbelief. So I won’t bore you (or really myself) with paragraphs about that. What I want to turn my attention to is the circumstances under which this award was presented.
When Billy told me they were presenting her with a climate justice award, I was a little surprised, and I wonder if she was too? Angela Davis’ bio states that she is a political activist, communist, feminist, author, etc., yet nowhere does it say environmentalist, right? Despite this, The Peace Abbey Foundation recognized her for her “commitment to the intersectionality of human rights and animal rights, and addressing the climate crisis through being vegan.” I honestly had no idea that Dr. Davis was a vegan and when I began researching more of her connections to environmentalism, it became clear that there are several instances more recently where Angela Davis emphasized the importance of climate issues, and specifically environmental justice.
To my knowledge, I am the only Black woman in my class year who is majoring in Environmental Studies (shoutout Gabby Johnson for holding it down with the minor!!). As I’ve paved this academic career for myself, I am the only Black person in my year emphasizing the connection between Black Studies and Environmental Studies (specifically environmental justice) through my academic work at Swarthmore College. It is incredibly timely, but also incredibly dangerous that this is the case as Black and brown communities already experience climate disasters and environmental injustice (like pollutants) simultaneously.
I was incredibly nervous to present this award. I feared that people would find a climate award irrelevant, I feared that I’d be taking up too much space at the luncheon, I feared that people wouldn’t understand the connection between Angela Davis’ work and environmental justice. I feared the crowd of students and esteemed Black Studies Professors. Oh, and duh I was also scared shitless of addressing Angela Davis herself live in the flesh.
But as I stepped to the quote-on-quote stage, the room erupted with cheers. I saw one of my favorite Black Studies Professors in the aisle with his camera up like a proud dad. And right at the moment I was about to speak, I saw my mentor who is like my academic mother walk in the room and I instantly felt at ease and confident in what I was about to say.
So while yes this was a pretty cool moment for me, I hope this continues to show the Black students that come after me that Black Studies and Environmental Studies are connected. I hope this moment encourages the school to consider hiring a Black Professor in the Black Studies department that focuses on environmental justice. I love my mentor immensely and the way that she has prioritized the work & voices of Black women throughout her syllabi, but a white woman should not be the only resource I have for my academic pursuits. I hope that Black students with a passion for environmental justice continue to advocate for this role at Swarthmore, and at other institutions, once I graduate. I am honored to have been immediately thought of and chosen for this because of the visibility of my EJ passion, but I want it to be more of a toss-up next time because there are simply too many Black Environmental Studies students to choose from.
When I sat down to write my letter to Dr. Davis, I knew that I would not be focusing solely on the limited scope of animal rights (shout out the animals), but rather emphasizing the criticality of the environmental justice movement, specifically how her work as a prison abolitionist and thought-leader has always, whether intentionally or not, been in pursuit of environmental justice. And I think I did a good job.
The rest of this post will be the speech I read to Professor Davis.
Hi Dr. Angela Davis, my name is Kayla Miller. First and foremost, let me say that it is an honor to even be addressing you and I am eternally grateful for all the work you’ve put into the pursuit of Black liberation and liberation for all.
As an environmental justice organizer fighting alongside CRCQL (grassroots organization) against environmental racism in the city of Chester, PA—a predominantly Black city home to the nation’s largest trash incinerator, I’d like to thank you for your constant reminders that the work we do for environmental justice activism is ground-zero for all social justice we pursue. In turn you are helping us all come to the realization that environmental justice and climate justice are key components of Black liberation.
I'd like to share with you all a quote from Dr. Angela Davis, “Environmental justice is ground zero of such injustice. If we don't manage to save this planet, then it makes little sense to be involved in all the other struggles that we face... We purge the world of racism, but then there is no planet left to appreciate a non-racist world. Or we finally manage to deal with misogyny, but then climate change is so bad that there's no future,"
We should all understand that from an ecofeminist perspective, the exploitation of the land is deeply connected to the exploitation of women, people of color, people who are incarcerated, people who are disabled, animals, and plants, and other living organisms.
Dr. Angela Davis, your life-long dedication to prison abolition, to creating literature, to advocating for a free Palestine, to fighting tooth and nail for Black diasporic liberation, to veganism is environmental justice work. So, thank you for being a steward to our environment (the place where we live, work, and play as defined by the EJ movement) and the living conditions we are fighting to create.
It has been a once in a lifetime honor learning from you in person and I hope you know I am screaming on the inside. As a Black girl from Brooklyn and a writer myself, the legacy you have carved out for Black girls like me is one that you should be very proud of. Thank you for joining us today at Swarthmore and congratulations on receiving this award.
Photo Creds: @zackybobphoto
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