It’s not often in mainstream media that the topic of Black liberation overlaps with issues concerning environmental activism. Yet, if we take a closer look, it becomes clear that these two themes can often be interconnected, helping to weave a fascinating tapestry of Black history and present struggles. The short film The Aunties poetically touches on this union while showcasing elder Black gay women activists through their work and romantic partnership.
The film by Charlyn Griffith-Oro and Jeannine Kayembe-Oro is currently streaming on the Black Public Media (BPM) YouTube channel just in time for Black History and Women’s History Month. It was executive produced by the Center for Cultural Power, and its distribution was supported by Queer Women of Color in Media Arts Project.
The documentary tells the story of Donna Dear and Paulette Greene, a married couple who met in 1974, and their work to teach sustainability and conservation while tending their land. The land they live on—Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms—is not only remarkable for its abundance of fresh produce but also due to its connection to Black history. Their 111-acre plot of land on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is said to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Further, their farm is part of a 2,167-acre plantation where enslaved Black people developed agriculture. On this land is a tulip poplar known as The Witness Tree, said to be a spot where Black people who were escaping enslavement prayed before heading up North. There’s a lot to take in for a less than ten-minute film, yet it manages to open up a world of new knowledge and perspective for all who choose to watch it.
During the era of slavery in the United States, the Underground Railroad was a network of routes, places, and people that helped the enslaved in the American South escape to the North. Although the word railroad is used in its name, it is more metaphorical than literal. While some tunnels and underground ways were part of the Underground Railroad, it also went through homes, barns, churches, and businesses.
Civil War scout, spy, and Freedom Fighter Harriet Tubman was known for using the Underground Railroad to carry out rescue missions to help enslaved Black people find their way up North. The plantation that Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms is connected to is said to be where Tubman’s family once lived.
As Greene notes in the film, “She [Tubman] wasn’t taking them [enslaved Black people] to their freedom. She was taking them out of slavery. Because they were already free…Unless you talk about the institution of slavery, then you can never talk about freedom.”
Within this framework and backdrop, the couple touches upon the history of agriculture on the land and how those enslaved people managed to use natural resources to create sustenance for themselves and others. The Whispering Tree is estimated to have been around since 1622. The 2,000 acres of land and the tree are natural testaments to the layered history of the U.S. in a way that isn’t often explored.
“It’s not just about the [historic] people you know. It’s [also] about our everyday lives,” Greene explains when addressing how Black history and legacies are discussed and how they affect our modern day.
The need to pay attention to the smaller details and strive to tell lesser-known stories is also reflected in Greene and Dear’s union. Identifying as Black gay women and partners in life, the couple have been together for over half a century. Yet, they celebrated 10 years of marriage in 2024.
One can infer that this is because gay marriage was only made legal in Maryland in 2013 and the whole of the United States in 2015. The couple, who married on their historic farm, are living examples of how the past is not separate and apart from our current times.
This plot of land saw enslaved Black people, Black people legally made free people, and the legalization of gay marriage. It also exists in a time when climate change poses a danger to the world as we know it, and environmental activism is as important now as ever.
The film connects these themes of climate justice, land stewardship, and cultural preservation so that viewers hopefully see just how many of these issues are intertwined and ever-evolving. As the National Parks Service website—which is currently dealing with an onslaught of budget attacks by the current White House administration—noted regarding the Underground Railroad:
“The Underground Railroad bridged the divides of race, religion, sectional differences, and nationality; spanned State lines and international borders; and joined the American ideals of liberty and freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to the extraordinary actions of ordinary men and women working in common purpose to free a people…As research continues, new routes are discovered and will be represented on the map [of the Underground Railroad].”
Meaning that all the places and pathways of the Underground Railroad have yet to be discovered. Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms and Greene and Dear are part of living, breathing, and ever-evolving history. The Aunties documentary is an excellent introduction to a broader discussion and exploration of history and current socio-political battles.
The Aunties can be viewed on the Black Public Media (BPM) YouTube channel here.
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