In Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope, Catherine Coleman Flowers explores the intersection of environmental issues, civil rights, and social justice through both personal and political lenses. Flowers draws on her experience fighting for vulnerable rural communities of color who lack access to clean, safe environments, weaving together stories from her own life with broader analyses of climate change, poverty, and systemic disinvestment. Through reflections on history, faith, and interconnectedness, she charts a path toward equity and environmental justice. This collection of personal essays serves as both a call to action and a roadmap for creating a more just and sustainable future for all communities.
Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental justice activist and the founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Flowers sits on the board of directors of the Climate Reality Project, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and RMI. She has served as the co-vice chair of the inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and is a practitioner-in-residence at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Flowers is the author of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret. In April 2025, TIME named her as one of six leaders to receive the TIME Earth Awards. In 2023, Flowers was recognized as one of the TIME 100 most influential people in the world, and as one of Forbes’ 50 Over 50.
