The late Wangari Maathai was a biologist, environmentalist, and the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She was born under British colonial occupation and schooled by Catholic missionaries. But when she looked back on her childhood near the end of her life, she realized her family’s Kikuyu culture had imparted her with an intuitive sense of environmental balance. Maathai was steadfast in her determination to fight for the twin issues of conservation and human rights — and planting trees was a symbol of defiance.
Wangari Maathai founded the global Green Belt Movement, which has contributed today to the planting of over 52 million trees. She was the 2004 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Her books include the memoir “Unbowed” and “Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World.” She’s also one of the 100 heroic women featured in the book “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.” She died in 2011 at the age of 71.
Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.
Michael Longley — The Vitality of Ordinary Things
[Unedited] Michael Longley with Krista Tippett
Naomi Shihab Nye — “Before You Know Kindness As the Deepest Thing Inside...”
[Unedited] Naomi Shihab Nye with Krista Tippett
The Question “Who Am I,” and Movies We Love
Ariel Burger — Be a Blessing
[Extended] Ariel Burger with Krista Tippett
Alain de Botton — The True Hard Work of Love and Relationships
[Unedited] Alain de Botton with Krista Tippett
Living the Questions — What's our communal equivalent of rubbing each other's feet?
The Soul in Depression
[Unedited] Andrew Solomon with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Anita Barrows with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Parker Palmer with Krista Tippett
J. Drew Lanham reads his poem “Love for a Song”
J. Drew Lanham reads from his book.
Katherine May Reads from 'Wintering'
Living the Questions: A Civil Rights Elder on Exhaustion and Rest, Spiritual Practice, and the Necessity of Loving Community
Nikki Giovanni — 'We Go Forward With a Sanity and a Love'
[Unedited] Nicki Giovanni with Krista Tippett
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