This article analyzes newspaper discourse in Richmond, Virginia surrounding the placement of a statue to Maggie Lena Walker, the first Black woman bank president in the United States, and the proposed removal of a live oak tree to make way for the installation of the Walker statue in the city’s Jackson Ward neighborhood, once known as the “Harlem of the South.” While at first glance, the heated debate surrounding the live oak tree’s proposed removal might conjure a familiar racial divide between white environmentalists and Black community members, this article suggests that the debate in the majority Black city instead captured a broader tension within Black communities torn between advocating for commemorative and environmental justice.

中文翻译：

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“绿色生活很重要”：环境与纪念正义的场所和政治

本文分析了弗吉尼亚州里士满的报纸报道，内容涉及向美国第一位黑人女性银行行长玛姬·莱娜·沃克（Maggie Lena Walker）放置雕像，并提议拆除活橡树以为沃克雕像的安装铺平道路位于城市杰克逊·沃德（Jackson Ward）街区，曾经被称为“南方的哈林”。乍一看，围绕活橡树拟议拆除的激烈辩论可能会让人联想到白人环保主义者和黑人社区成员之间熟悉的种族鸿沟，但这篇文章表明，在大多数黑人城市中，这场辩论却抓住了黑人社区之间更大的紧张气氛，倡导纪念性和环境正义。