Black History Month Keynote Address by Catherine Coleman Flowers

Catherine Coleman Flowers—internationally recognized environmental activist, critically acclaimed author of “Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret,” MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and Vice Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council—will deliver a keynote address for Black History Month on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. Register here.

The keynote address, hosted by the College of Humanities & Fine Arts (HFA) with generous support from many campus partners, is the culminating event of HFA's Black History Month celebrations. It is free and open to the public. 

A cross-campus collaboration aimed at deepening the discussions around climate change, the talk will highlight the intersectional nature of climate change by centering racial, economic and health inequities as they relate to our changing planet. 

Flowers is an environmental and climate justice activist who has brought attention to the largely invisible problem of inadequate waste and water sanitation infrastructure in Black, Indigenous, Latinx and poor rural communities of the United States. 

Event sponsors include the Toko Lecture Fund by College of Humanities & Fine Arts; School of Earth and Sustainability; Office of the Provost; Isenberg School of Management; College of Natural Sciences; Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE); Office of Equity and Inclusion; Commonwealth Honors College; School of Public Health and Health Sciences; Clean Energy Extension; School of Behavioral Sciences; Graduate School; and Women in Leadership.

Learn more.