Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-247) and index.

Introduction -- Strange rendings of nature -- A land cursed by injustice -- Possessing the land -- Race natures -- Black folk -- Urban montage -- Conclusion. African American intellectual thought has long provided a touchstone for national politics and civil rights, but, as Kimberly Smith reveals, it also has much to say about our relationship to nature. In this first single-authored book to link African American and environmental studies, Smith uncovers a rich tradition stretching from the abolition movement through the Harlem Renaissance, demonstrating that black Americans have been far from indifferent to environmental concerns.