The Thanksgiving Sewage Backup of 2019: Infrastructural Failure and Environmental Racism in South Ozone Park, Queens

Natalie Bump Vena is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Studies. She received her J.D. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University’s School of Law and Department of Anthropology. Her research and teaching interests concern environmental policymaking in U.S. cities. She is admitted to the New York State Bar. Vena’s long-term research examines the history of natural resources preservation in the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, which protects 69,000 acres of land encompassing Chicago. Vena also has an active research agenda in New York City. In addition to undertaking fieldwork and advocacy concerning a South Ozone Park community’s protracted recovery from a sewage backup that occurred in 2019, she is studying the implementation of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (2019). In particular, she is examining the process of identifying the “disadvantaged communities” who are slated to receive 35% to 40% of benefits derived from the state’s green transition.

A Love Balm for the Ages: Music and Wellness in the African Diaspora

Meagan Sylvester (Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies, Trinidad and Tobago), Brigitta Johnson (University of South Carolina), and Michelle Scott (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) have a round table discussion on the healing aspects of Black music. Explore how music in the Diaspora entertains, uplifts, and activates communities toward self-awareness, self-love, self-care, and self-advocacy. Presented by Africana Studies in celebration of Black History Month. Register at https://tinyurl.com/532kp74s

Publish & Flourish: A guide to Successful Manuscript Submission with Debbie Gershenowitz, Executive Editor of the University North Carolina Press

Ever wonder what academic publishers may be looking for in a good book? Need help with how to craft a manuscript proposal? Have questions on whether your book should go to a "trade" publisher? Join Africana Studies as Debbie Gershenowitz, Executive Editor at UNC Press provides the nuts and bolts to a successful manuscript proposal. Register at https://tinyurl.com/2p8zz6ee