Every Pecan Tree: Trees, Meaning, and Memory in Enslaved People’s Lives

As part of the Arnold Arboretum Director's Lecture Series, Tiya Miles, Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard University and author of All That She Carried, will present "Every Pecan Tree: Trees, Meaning, and Memory in Enslaved People’s Lives."

As part of the Arnold Arboretum Director's Lecture Series, Tiya Miles, Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard University and author of All That She Carried, will present "Every Pecan Tree: Trees, Meaning, and Memory in Enslaved People’s Lives."

Tiya Miles will take up the pecan tree as inspiration for exploring the meaning of trees in the lives of enslaved African Americans. Using a family heirloom passed down by Black women, as well as slave narratives, oral histories, and missionary records, her presentation will consider the importance of trees as protectors of bodies and spirits, as sites of violence, as memory keepers, and as historical witnesses in the Black experience of captivity and resistance. Ultimately, time spent with these examples will underscore the centrality of the natural world to Black, and indeed, human, survival. 

Visit the event website for more information and the Zoom link. Register for the event in advance. 

Contact: arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu