Black Earth
December 05, 2024 at 02:54AMBefore the American Civil War, Patrick Chandler Brown’s great-grandfather was enslaved on the Oakley Grove plantation. Today, Brown carries the ring of skeleton keys that unlock the doors of Oakley Grove house as the owner. Christina Cooke digs deep into environmental racism in North Carolina in a thoughtful profile that traces the Brown family’s deep commitment to community service and activism through generations.
A preacher and a farmer, the elder Brown knew the chemicals would likely leach into the sandy loam and clay soil of Warren County, located in North Carolina’s northeastern Piedmont region, up near the Virginia border. He knew they could contaminate the water and make residents sick — and like hundreds of his fellow protesters, he believed that his community was being targeted because it was one of the poorest in the state, populated mostly by people of color.
“That’s my dad right there,” says Patrick Brown, 41, pointing on his phone to a black-and-white photo of his father being arrested. Around 55 years old at the time, Arthur wears a suit, tie, and round spectacles, and he is being carried away by three helmeted police officers, one holding him under each arm, another under his legs. Looking straight ahead, he appears dignified, calm, and self-assured.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2024/12/04/black-earth/
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