Many frontline communities serve as the source of scientific data for researchers and scientists looking to use them as research topics—but see little to no benefit in sharing their knowledge, expertise, and traditions. Some communities have even seen their efforts and livelihoods undermined by outside scholarship, and from these negative experiences, develop a healthy distrust of academics. For many years, this was the general trend for the Afro-Indigenous Gullah/Geechee Nation of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
This post explores some broad suggestions for leveraging science to support activist efforts, based on a decade of work by the Gullah/Geechee Sustainability Think Tank (GGSTT). The GGSTT has partnered with the people of Gullah/Geechee Nation to collaborate on issues facing the community, in a way that minimizes the potential for…
Read the full article originally published at blog.ucsusa.org.