Charleston Race, water, and the coming storm

New Orleans is not the only beautiful and historic Southern city loved by tourists, but plagued by racial tensions and at risk from rising waters, according to this impassioned cri de coeur. While Charleston, S.C., has not experienced as devastating an environmental disaster as Hurricane Katrina, Harvard Law School professor Crawford (Captive Audience) contends that Charleston's recent expansion across marshes and sea islands renders it exceptionally vulnerable to climate change. The danger is not evenly distributed among the city's inhabitants, however; the poorest Charlestonians, many of whom are African American, occupy parts of the city most at risk of destruction. But that outcome is not inevitable, according to Crawford, who profiles local activists including minister Joseph Darby; entrepreneur David White, whose nonprofit provides laundry services to people without homes on the city's flood-prone East Side; and community development advocate Michelle Mapp, who works to "help prevent eviction and displacement of low-income and Black households." Crawford persuasively links the precarious position of the city's Black neighborhoods to other "legacies of slavery and racism," including segregated schools and a lack of affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, this is an eye-opening look behind Charleston's genteel facade. (Apr.)

Crawford's (John A. Reilly Clinical Prof. of Law, Harvard Law Sch.; Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution and Why America Might Miss It) book about Charleston's imminent coastal climate crisis, intertwined with the city's racial issues, is truly an eye-opener. Crawford's writing style is clear and engaging, and she deftly involves the reader in the problems she addresses. The book outlines federal, South Carolina, and local officials' inability to manage the prospect of sinking land and a rapidly rising sea level. Charleston flooded 89 times in 2019, 68 in 2020, and 46 in 2021, but real-estate values are booming. The author also carefully examines the racial history of Charleston. The Civil War began in its harbor of Fort Sumter, and it has a long history of gaining wealth due to its trading of enslaved people. This book depicts that history, from the period of Reconstruction through the city's modern-day government. Crawford predicts that Black and lower-income communities will be the most unlikely groups to receive assistance to move to safer ground, and that the wealthy will still rush to cash in and build on the coast. VERDICT An engaging book on the important national intersection of racism and the natural environment. Ideal for book discussion groups or citywide reading.--Amy Lewontin