Kishi Animashaun Ducre, assistant professor of African Studies at Syracuse University, addressed the Hamilton community in a lecture titled "How to Become a Professional Hellraiser" on Sept. 27. Professor Ducre's presentation discussed activism within the field of environmental justice, providing her audience with a background of the field's pertinent social issues and emphasizing the importance of incorporating activism within a diverse range of careers.
Specifically, Ducre's studies address the relationship between environmental injustice and race in America by way of institutional rules, regulations and policies that target communities of color for locally undesirable land uses. Before receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Environmental Justice, she worked as a campaigner for Greenpeace, where she contributed to crucial victories for the movement in Louisiana and California. Her experience solidified her conviction in the four main elements necessary to achieve success within the field: research, social movement, policy and planning.
Yet while she was able to pursue social change through her work with Greenpeace, she stressed the fact that activism is not limited to youth, nor to those employed within the nonprofit sector; while it may require creativity, social activism can be integrated across many professional spheres.
Within academia, Ducre has converted her dissertation into an informational pamphlet for low-income communities; she also offers courses that address pertinent issues in Environmental Justice, such as "There Goes the Neighborhood: U.S. Segregation." Although she no longer works as a campaign organizer, she has remained dedicated to her ideals—an example she hopes students will follow. Before concluding her presentation, she left her audience with a final thought: it is our responsibility to constantly challenge and reflect upon our principles in order to attain a more equitable definition of social justice.
-- by Sarah Caney '09
Specifically, Ducre's studies address the relationship between environmental injustice and race in America by way of institutional rules, regulations and policies that target communities of color for locally undesirable land uses. Before receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Environmental Justice, she worked as a campaigner for Greenpeace, where she contributed to crucial victories for the movement in Louisiana and California. Her experience solidified her conviction in the four main elements necessary to achieve success within the field: research, social movement, policy and planning.
Yet while she was able to pursue social change through her work with Greenpeace, she stressed the fact that activism is not limited to youth, nor to those employed within the nonprofit sector; while it may require creativity, social activism can be integrated across many professional spheres.
Within academia, Ducre has converted her dissertation into an informational pamphlet for low-income communities; she also offers courses that address pertinent issues in Environmental Justice, such as "There Goes the Neighborhood: U.S. Segregation." Although she no longer works as a campaign organizer, she has remained dedicated to her ideals—an example she hopes students will follow. Before concluding her presentation, she left her audience with a final thought: it is our responsibility to constantly challenge and reflect upon our principles in order to attain a more equitable definition of social justice.
-- by Sarah Caney '09
