Tree Planting for Black Forest at Hadley Towers
Vanderbilt University Department of Art presents Black Forest: Nashville. We could use a hand planting trees in Nashville for Black lives with Berg Global Artist-in-Residence Fellowship, artist, researcher Ekene Ijeoma.
On November 13 we’ll be at Vanderbilt honoring HBCU Roger Williams College and Black Cultural Center and November 14 at Hadley Towers honoring Dot Holman and North Nashville. Both programs will be documented for a short film that will be screened at Vanderbilt on December 3rd.
As the founder of Black Forest, Ekene organizes spiritual community events that transform tree planting and caring activities into healing rituals where participants channel their energies (memories and emotions) into the soil and the tree's roots to strengthen their relationships to nature. His community-responsive and site-specific ceremonies have included
saying the names of participants’ ancestors
observing our trees and their new environment
visualizing our tree’s growth in it
expressing gratitude for our tree’s gifts
For this program Ekene is collaborating with Cumberland River Compact and their Neighborhood Planting Captains to guide participants through a series of activities as we plant about 16 trees honoring Dot Holman and remembering her community of 29th Avenue in North Nashville. Mrs. Holman, whose childhood home stood on what was formerly 29th Avenue in North Nashville before their homes were destroyed and their communities were displaced to build the I-40 and MDHA developments like Hadley Towers. She still visits the Osage orange tree—one of the last living witnesses to that era—from which her childhood swingset used to hang. Reflecting on trees, faith, and hope in her book, From the Same Soil: Trees and Humans, We Are Alike, her story speaks to the generational legacies trees carry and the connections between people, history, and place.
This event is free and open to all. No experience or equipment needed— gloves, shovels etc. will be provided. Come for a single stop or stay with us for the Caribbean food and drinks that will be served at the end. RSVP required.
Ekene is developing a text-first tree care and tree lore system that networks our multi-site forest of over 600 trees across 8 states and with this event 9 states including Tennessee.
If you’re interested in becoming a long-term member of your local forest community, text TREES to 888-301-5635 to help them grow, e.g. texting us photos if a tree’s leaves look dry and or watering it and texting us to add to the tree's profile.
ABOUT BLACK FOREST
Black Forest (BF) is planting trees for Black ancestors and distributing multimedia on Black Nature, as a living monument and archive for Black lives. BF was founded by Ekene Ijeoma in his lab, Poetic Justice, at MIT (18-24’) during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement in 2022. In response to the uncounted lives shortened and harmed by racial and environmental inequalities, he was called to plant over 40,000 trees across the US and abroad in 12 years. We’ve partnered with governments, organizations, corporations, and communities to plant over 600 trees across 9 cities, memorializing ancestors while mitigating heat islands, food deserts, asthma and cancer alleys—for their descendants.
Black Forest School is a series of programs and network of spaces (including libraries) focused on archiving and presenting Black perspectives on nature across various forms of expression and modes of knowledge. In May, we presented Black Forest Library as a special project at the 1-54 Art Fair, which ARTnews named one of the best booths! The Library featured a site-specific collection of 40 books, 40 plants, and artworks by Devin N. Morris and Madjeen Isaac. These items were placed throughout an installation of 168 milk crates assembled into a reading room, with LED signs displaying the names of items and ancestors, as well as a game table with checkers/chess and a Mancala board, inviting play. Volunteers invited fairgoers into the space and guided them through our collection.
BF is building communities around trees that will welcome them into their families and neighborhoods for generations. We’re funded, hosted, planted, and managed by people across many races, ethnicities, and ages who believe in ecological and racial equity.
ABOUT THE BERG GLOBAL FELLOWSHIP
The College of Arts and Science is proud to host the Berg Global Artist-in-Residence Fellowship program. The program brings accomplished visual artists to Vanderbilt for a residential fellowship designed to support the dissemination of new perspectives on the visual arts throughout the Vanderbilt community.
For more information, visit Berg Global Artist-in-Residence Fellowship or contact the Vanderbilt Department of Art and EADJ Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice