Conveners:
Tiffany LaShae, Soil, Water, and Climate, CFANS
Terresa Moses, Graphic Design, College of Design
Nic Jelinski, Soil, Water, and Climate, CFANS
This project will integrate a scientific study on the effects of different soil types and soil amendments on collard greens with cultural perspectives on collard greens, soil management, land, natural history, and racial justice, through the development of a visual arts exhibit. Because collard greens connect people of African descent born in America to a stolen history, social identity, triumph, survival, and freedom, it is critical to conduct scientific studies on collard greens through a cultural lens. This integration will be facilitated by producing a visual art exhibit from the documentation of a journey of soil collection (soil materials which will be subsequently used in the research study) placed in the historical context of enslaved people through interviews, photos, videos, and narrative stories of Black history and land and soil stewardship on a trip from Virginia to Texas. This journey will include connections to faculty and staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Black-owned farms. The visual art exhibit will weave together cultural and environmental narratives of collard greens, soil and land management, and natural history by displaying soil profiles and their natural histories alongside images and videos relevant to cultural histories and the Black experience in America.
