Holy Ground - by Catherine Coleman Flowers (Hardcover)

About the Book

Described by Bryan Stevenson as "the center of the quest for environmental justice in America," Catherine Coleman Flowers has dedicated her life to fighting for the most vulnerable communities--rural, poor, of color--who have been deprived of the basic civil right to a clean, safe, and sustainable environment. Both deeply personal and urgently political, the essays in Holy Ground draw on history to illuminate and contextualize the most pressing issues of this moment: from climate change to human rights, from rural poverty to reproductive justice, from the notorious history of Lowndes County, Alabama, to the broader crisis of racialized disinvestment in the South. Flowers maps the distance and direction toward justice, examining her own diverse ancestry as evidence of our interconnectedness. She reflects on trailblazers who have fought for social and environmental justice. She writes about her mother, a civil rights activist who lost her life to gun violence, and her own deeply personal experience with reproductive justice. And in a remarkably candid and moving piece, she writes about a traumatic attack that occurred at a moment of collective triumph, in which she weighs her fight for the common good against her own well-being. Flowers's faith shines throughout the collection, guiding her work and inspiring her vision of our responsibility to one another and to our shared home.

Book Synopsis

*TIME 2025 EARTH AWARD WINNER*

An inspiring collection of essays, personal and political, from the leading environmental justice activist of our time, that frames the challenges we face as a society and-with grace, generosity, and hope--charts the way toward equity, respect, and a brighter future.

Described by Bryan Stevenson as "the center of the quest for environmental justice in America," Catherine Coleman Flowers has dedicated her life to fighting for the most vulnerable communities--rural, poor, of color--who have been deprived of the basic civil right to a clean, safe, and sustainable environment. Both deeply personal and urgently political, the essays in Holy Ground draw on history to illuminate and contextualize the most pressing issues of this moment: from climate change to human rights, from rural poverty to reproductive justice, from the notorious history of Lowndes County, Alabama, to the broader crisis of racialized disinvestment in the South. Flowers maps the distance and direction toward justice, examining her own diverse ancestry as evidence of our interconnectedness. She reflects on trailblazers who have fought for social and environmental justice. She writes about her mother, a civil rights activist who lost her life to gun violence, and her own deeply personal experience with reproductive justice. And in a remarkably candid and moving piece, she writes about a traumatic attack that occurred at a moment of collective triumph, in which she weighs her fight for the common good against her own well-being. Flowers's faith shines throughout the collection, guiding her work and inspiring her vision of our responsibility to one another and to our shared home.

Drawn from a lifetime of organizing, activism, and change-making, Holy Ground equips us with clarity, lights a way forward, and rouses us to action--for ourselves and for each other, for our communities, and, ultimately, for our planet.

Review Quotes

"[Flowers] writes with passion and gracefulness about her life and experiences as an advocate for the rural poor . . . along with absorbing personal reflections on the power of religious faith, community, food, and the pain of personal loss. . . . A passionate and thoughtful exploration of social injustice."-Kirkus (starred review)

"Catherine Coleman Flowers possesses the rare ability to write with moral clarity, something that shines throughout this collection of essays. As we confront the challenges facing our democracy and environment, Catherine's words of faith, resilience, and advocacy ignite a spirit of hope in the reader--a sentiment that she knows we must continue to cultivate within our communities and ourselves."--Al Gore, former US Vice President and founder and chair of The Climate Reality Project

"Catherine Flowers has dedicated her life to confronting entrenched systemic injustices. Her powerful collection of essays is infused with her boundless grace, fearlessness, and insight. Drawing on her varied experiences and accomplishments, she illuminates the challenges of the past and present while guiding us toward a more hopeful, resilient, and empathetic future."-- Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president, Emerson Collective

"In these unflinching essays, Flowers shows us how to witness the world with searing precision and summon an unerring sense of justice--and in doing so, she reminds us of the power we each have to make it better and fairer."--Tom Steyer, author of the New York Times bestseller Cheaper, Faster, Better and co-executive chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions

"Catherine Flowers has informed, inspired, and ignited me in just fights for years--she's dedicated her life to advancing the cause of justice and proving again and again that the power of the people can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. With rich detail and profound moral clarity, Holy Ground shines a bright light on injustices that persist in our communities and across our nation, and reminds us that we are all capable of taking action to right persistent wrongs."--U.S. Senator Cory Booker

"In this extraordinary book, Catherine Flowers not only blends faith, history, intimate personal stories, and ancestral wisdom, she does so in a way that forges a path that we can all take together. In this time when social and ecological crises are so intertwined, when the past can seem to weigh us down or pull us backwards, Flowers brings us to a place where we can find the reservoirs of strength to break through to a brighter future: Holy Ground. A must-read from a great American!"--Karenna Gore, founder and executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary

"Holy Ground is filled with honest, forthright stories drawn from Catherine's life that convey both the injustice of the past and present along with the transformative power of finding common ground and conveying mutual respect--often in the most unlikely places. Everyone needs to read this one-two punch of truth and light that urges us to find our common humanity."--Toddi Steelman, vice president and vice provost for Climate and Sustainability at Duke University

"Powerful . . . In the firm hands of Catherine Coleman Flowers, environmental, social, and racial justice aren't separate strands of work that must be done, but rather parts of a whole that stretches back generations . . . This is the kind of book you write when you're using your narrative to build bridges so you can help someone else across."--The Good Fight

About the Author

Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental justice activist and founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ). A MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient, Flowers sits on the board of directors of the Climate Reality Project, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and RMI. She has served as the co-vice chair of the inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and is a practitioner-in-residence at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Flowers is the author of Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret and has written for the New York Review of Books and the New York Times, among other publications. In 2023, she was recognized as one of the TIME 100 most influential people in the world and one of the Forbes 50 Over 50.