Where Do You Find Hope? with Corina Newsome
In this episode of Climate Changed, Nicole speaks with Corina Newsome, the Associate Conservation Scientist at the National Wildlife Federation and a recent graduate from Georgia Southern University with a Master of Science in Biology. Corina, who began her career in the field of wildlife science as an animal care professional, specializes in avian conservation and passionately connects people with the natural world through birds. In a wide-ranging conversation, Corina reveals how taking on racial injustice directly through activism has challenged the straight-forward faith she developed as a child at her church in Philadelphia. For Corina, racial injustice, the environment, and her faith are all interconnected and play a strong role in her ability to find hope. She and Nicole talk about this messy and essential process, as well as the practice of and process of paying attention, what birds can teach us about hope, and how Black faith communities are now addressing resource inequity and depletion in relation to food sovereignty through organizations such as the Black Church Food Security Network.
Nicole and Corina spoke with each other for nearly an hour. Click here to hear longer version of the conversation.
As with all our episodes, this episode includes a centering practice and some practical steps to take into your own life.
About Corina Newsome
Corina Newsome is the Associate Conservation Scientist at the National Wildlife Federation and a recent graduate from Georgia Southern University with a Master of Science in Biology. Corina, who began in the field of wildlife science as an animal care professional, specializes in avian conservation and passionately connects people with the natural world through birds.
Having experienced the hurdles faced by marginalized communities in wildlife conservation, Corina’s mission is to center the perspectives and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in wildlife conservation, environmental education, and exploration of the natural world. Corina is also one of the co-organizers of the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek
About Maya Williams and Their poem, “Religious Imposters”
Maya Williams (she/hers, they/them, and ey/em) is a religious nonbinary Black multiracial suicide survivor constantly writing poems. Maya is the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine. Maya's content covers suicide awareness, mental health, the prison industrial complex, faith, entertainment media, grief, and healing.
About the poem, “Religious Imposters,” Maya writes: It is inspired by Baháʼí poet Anis Mojgani's poem "Shake the Dust." His poem is a call for so many different types of human beings to "shake the dust" and come into their own because of how there's so much to admire about them. I created this poem as an expression of love towards religious and non-religious people to let go of imposter syndrome (shake that dust, if you will). There's so much to admire about folks coming into their own worldview. As a Christian writer, I cannot separate my writing process from my faith (especially when I write my prayers in my private journal). There is a sense of sacredness and desire for a community when I engage in writing a poem similar to this one.
“Religious Imposters” was published in Frost Meadow Review and then shared on the Interfaith Youth Core.
