Carolyn

Finney

Storyteller & Cultural Geographer

Accidental Environmentalist

Travels from: Burlington, VT

“Finney shines a different light, and brings a different voice to bear.” — Julian Agyeman, Tufts University

Carolyn Finney, PhD is a storyteller, author and a cultural geographer who is passionate about interrogating our past and dreaming a future that is liberatory, just and green. Dr. Finney is grounded in both artistic and intellectual ways of knowing – she pursued an acting career for eleven years, but five years of backpacking trips through Africa and Asia and living in Nepal changed the course of her life. Motivated by these experiences, Carolyn returned to school after a 15-year absence to complete a B.A., M.A. (gender and environmental issues in Kenya and Nepal), and a Ph.D. in Geography at Clark University (where she was a Fulbright and a Canon National Science Scholar Fellow). Along with public speaking (nationally & internationally), writing, media engagements, consulting & teaching (she has held positions at Wellesley College, the University of California, Berkeley & the University of Kentucky), she served on the U.S. National Parks Advisory Board for eight years under the Obama Administration. Her first book, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors was released in 2014. Recent publications include “Radical Presence – the Shadows Take Shape: African Americans (Re)making a Green World” in Not Just Green, Not Just White: Race, Justice and Environmental History (edited by Mary Mendoza and Traci Brynne Voyles, University of Nebraska Press, 2025);“Memory Divine” in A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars (edited by Erin Sharkey, Milkweed Press, Feb. 2023); “Joy is a Revelation” in Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors (edited by Rue Mapp, Chronicle Books, Oct. 2022); Self-Evident: Reflections on the Invisibility of Black Bodies in Environmental Histories (BESIDE Magazine, Montreal Spring 2020); The Perils of Being Black in Public: We are all Christian Cooper and George Floyd (The Guardian, June 3rd 2020); and Who Gets Left Out of the Great Outdoors Story? (The NY Times November 4, 2021).

She is currently working on her new book (creative non-fiction) that takes a more personal journey into the very complicated relationship between race, land & belonging in the United States, and a performance piece entitled The N Word: Nature Revisited as part of an Andrew W. Mellon residency at the New York Botanical Gardens Humanities Institute. She is involved with a number of documentary film projects; her family’s story appears in the HBO documentary, Trees and Other Entanglements in Fall of 2023 (Vermilion Films). She recently completed a three-year stint as a columnist at the Earth Island Journal and was awarded the Alexander and Ilse Melamid Medal from the American Geographical Society in 2022. Carolyn is currently a scholar/artist-in-residence in the Franklin Environmental Center at Middlebury College.

Carolyn's Featured Titles

Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors

University of North Carolina Press |

June 1, 2014

Nonfiction

Why are African Americans so underrepresented when it comes to interest in nature, outdoor recreation, and environmentalism? In this thought-provoking study, Carolyn Finney looks beyond the discourse of the environmental justice movement to examine how the natural environment has been understood, commodified, and represented by both white and black Americans. Bridging the fields of environmental history, cultural studies, critical race studies, and geography, Finney argues that the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, and racial violence have shaped cultural understandings of the “great outdoors” and determined who should and can have access to natural spaces.

Drawing on a variety of sources from film, literature, and popular culture, and analyzing different historical moments, including the establishment of the Wilderness Act in 1964 and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Finney reveals the perceived and real ways in which nature and the environment are racialized in America. Looking toward the future, she also highlights the work of African Americans who are opening doors to greater participation in environmental and conservation concerns.

BIPOC Representation, Black Voices, Campus Reads, Civil Discourse & Social Justice, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Environmental Concerns, Health & Wellness, Natural World, Nonfiction, Travel Narratives

Commodifying of the Great Outdoors

Making the Outdoors Inclusive

History of Racializing the Environment

“Carolyn Finney, Ph.D., is a fabulous speaker and was engaging for the whole hour talk. She was extremely knowledgeable on the topic and not afraid to address current events. We hope to have another opportunity in the future to be able to host Dr. Finney.” — New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, 2025

“Carolyn Finney’s ability to weave together her personal story and advocacy with the movements shaping our the current environmental discourse is a gift to any audience. For our group, the conversations around land, home, access, and our responsibility moving forward made an indelible mark on everyone in attendance.” — Princeton Theological Seminary, 2024

“Carolyn was an AMAZING speaker and a joy to host. Her remarks were impactful, thought provoking and insightful. Her messaging was perfectly targeted for our event and audience. We couldn’t have hoped for a better keynote speaker.” — Golden Gate Park (National Recreation Area), 2024

“Carolyn was a true professional, very enthusiastic and passionate about the topic (structural racism) and discussing her upbringing. We loved hearing about her story.” — Arcadis Black Employee Network (BEN), 2024

“Carolyn Finney’s energy, fluency with her material, and carefully organized visual presentation made for a riveting event. Her talk was truly stunning; the audience was entertained but also deeply moved and taught.” — Penn State Altoona, 2024

“…From the moment she took the stage, her passion for empowering individuals, especially women of color like myself, was palpable. Dr. Carolyn’s talk was not just a presentation; it was a profound journey through knowledge and inspiration. She had a remarkable ability to connect with the audience, truly see us, and speak to our hearts and minds. As a black woman, it was incredibly refreshing to be in the presence of someone who not only understood the challenges we face but also celebrated our strength, resilience, and unique experiences. What struck me the most was Dr. Carolyn’s genuine empathy and active listening. She didn’t just talk at us; she engaged in a meaningful dialogue, creating a safe space where our voices were not just heard but valued. Her insights were not only enlightening but also empowering. I left her talk feeling validated, inspired, and armed with the knowledge to navigate the world as a black woman with confidence and pride….” — UC San Diego Sixth College, 2023

“Carolyn Finney gave a wonderful talk that was both informative and engaging for our audience. She also created a safe space for our audience to ask questions and engage in dialogue during the Q&A portion of the talk that helped to build community around the subject area. Great experience overall!” — Fletcher Free Library

“Using collective memory, race, and environment, Finney looks at the effect of slavery and Jim Crow segregation and their key roles in shaping African American connections to place—the ‘great outdoors’ or the ‘environment’ more generally. She looks at representation of African Americans in the great outdoors as being a key site of contestation, of struggle. She also looks at the difficulties inherent in discussions of race and diversity within environmentalism, and with environmentalists. Finney shines a different light, and brings a different voice to bear.” — Tufts University

“Weaving scholarly analysis with interviews of leading black environmentalists and ordinary Americans, Finney traces the environmental legacy of slavery and Jim Crow segregation, which mapped the wilderness as a terrain of extreme terror and struggle for generations of blacks—as well as a place of refuge.” – The Boston Globe

Carolyn’s Upcoming Events