Holy Ground by Catherine Coleman Flowers is an insightful nonfiction where environmental activist shares her thoughts and observations regarding racial inequality that exists within her hometown of Lowndes county where impoverished rural Black communities struggle to receive access to proper sanitation and clean water.
Review Holy Ground by Catherine Coleman Flowers
Overview
The collection of essays in Holy Ground are both personal and political as Flowers draws upon history to highlight the intersectionality of climate change to human rights. She explores topics related to the impact of rural poverty and its ties to racism, the troubling reality of reproductive rights and the governments insertion into a woman’s autonomy over her body and reproductive rights and the greater issues facing her hometown of Lowndes county, Alabama where radicalized disinvestment has become a glaring problem.
Additionally, Flowers shares personal stories involving her parents and their involvement in the Civil Rights movement, the shattering loss of her mother to gun violence, and her own struggle with reproductive justice and bodily autonomy. Her insights invite readers to learn and become inspired to take action within their families and communities to be a positive influence for change and progress.
Content
Holy Ground by Catherine Coleman Flowers did an excellent job balancing the personal and political themes of these essays. She opens with a powerful essay Thirty Pieces of Silver exploring the loss of interest in human rights and equality due to interest in wealth and power. How ultimately this is what influences politicians, corporations, and leaders in positions of power.
From there she powers forward with another powerful essay exploring the rural south and how its predominately black residents are impacted by poor infrastructure and climate change resulting in poor sanitation and lack of clean water. She provides rich context detailing how the Alabama state government has failed these communities and indeed adds to the issue by placing the burden of solving the problem onto them.
Passing legislation that penalizes the residents requiring them to comply to getting their plumbing and sewage up to code or facing fines and loss of their home. These low-income famalies can’t afford to pay the cost of fixing the growing sewage problems nor can they afford a fine. This puts them in a tough spot and shows the governments lack of care or understanding regarding the issue.
Flowers also shares important history regarding reproductive rights and the injustices experienced by BIPOC and low income families due to the American Eugenics Movement in the early 1900s. How many women were forced into tubal ligation and denied the right to procreate and build their families as they saw fit. Additionally, she shares her struggles with reproductive rights as she detailed her experience in which she was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy and the medical staff failed in providing her through information and ensuring the was properly informed and consented to their actions.
Yet, there were some interesting elements that may lead the reader to feelings of ambiguity. Flowers discusses how in her effort to provide proper sanitation and clean water to residents in Lowndes count she’s worked with Republican politicians to garner support in her efforts and shares her partnership with Jeff Sessions and his support of her efforts to improve conditions in her hometown. While on one hand this is a tremendous boon for her community one still can’t overlook his tendency to persecute those in the Black community and stand for problematic legislation aimed at negatively impacting Blacks.
Furthermore, she shares the history of the Nazi sympathizer Werner Von Braun and how his work with the Nazi regime. After surrendering to the Americans at the end of the war they were brought to America where they later were transported to Huntsville, Alabama to aid in working on rockets that would later send Americans to the moon. Flowers mentions his change of heart and how he become a crucial part of the Civil Rights movement. Her focus borders on admiration over his seemingly “change of heart”. However, the bad taste still lingers in the mouth when reflecting on his violent history.
Writing Style
The structure of this book was put together wonderfully. The essays had a flow and spoke to the central theme of the book. Flowers found the perfect balance of history, politics both current and past and personal reflections to make this book feel well-rounded. The prose was conversational and informative creating a warm yet educational rapport between Flowers and the reader.
Flowers shared her progress with her activism while inspiring you to seek out ways to make changes in your community and become engaged with your civic duty. She shares how she’s often asked how she’s able to maintain hope with the bleak realities of the world we’re living in. She shares how hope is about doing what you can and recognizing that change doesn’t necessarily happen overnight but it’s an ongoing work. She states it started for her with what her parents did and how when it came her turn she picked up the baton and kept running the race. Providing this inspirational insight is definitely a great way to influence younger generations to continue moving forward and become engaged activists.
Rating and Recommendations
I enjoyed these essays and took so much from the wisdom, insight, history and lessons Flowers shared. While there were a couple of points I didn’t agree with and her eagerness to accept problematic politicians and a Nazi sympathizer gave me a bit of the ick it wasn’t enough to take away from the greater theme and purpose of this body of work.
I recommend this book for my bookish friends that are socially conscious and enjoy political books discussing activism, climate change, human rights and racial equality.
