jayson m porter
@roguechieftan.bsky.social
environmental historian and writer, & asst. prof @UMaryland: Environmental justice histories, food systems, agrochemicals, & racial ecologies in Mexico & the Americas. @nacla @PlantPerspectives
Pinned
Mule Power
Unpacking empires and diaspora in Mexico and the United States.
www.sciencehistory.org
“Horses come with speed, social status, and occasionally courage. Still, their strides are too long and inconsistent to carry strenuous weight in extreme conditions. For that, empires needed mules.”
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...
Last Friday, I gathered environmental justice educators from across the University of Maryland system for an EJ Pedagogy Workshop, where we shared syllabi, best practices, assignments, and thoughts on how we help students navigate climate and eco anxiety. It was an incredible experience!
January 26, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Last Friday, I gathered environmental justice educators from across the University of Maryland system for an EJ Pedagogy Workshop, where we shared syllabi, best practices, assignments, and thoughts on how we help students navigate climate and eco anxiety. It was an incredible experience!
Reposted by jayson m porter
One day will be the last that they commit an execution in the streets and we can and must bring that day closer however we can
January 24, 2026 at 4:51 PM
One day will be the last that they commit an execution in the streets and we can and must bring that day closer however we can
Reposted by jayson m porter
The coming hours and days in Minneapolis are crucial. ICE killed a man and is violently repressing protestors. We will begin to interrupt the fascists decisively in the coming days or we will wake up to full arsenal unchecked state backed autocratic capitalism.
January 24, 2026 at 7:14 PM
The coming hours and days in Minneapolis are crucial. ICE killed a man and is violently repressing protestors. We will begin to interrupt the fascists decisively in the coming days or we will wake up to full arsenal unchecked state backed autocratic capitalism.
Reposted by jayson m porter
I’m preping to interview @berondam.bsky.social about her amazing new #BookSky release this week WHEN TREES TESTIFY and one of the points she makes is that enslavers kept better track of plants and animals than the enslaved people that they enslaved
One of the most important 🧪 books this decade.
One of the most important 🧪 books this decade.
When Trees Testify
This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stor...
us.macmillan.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:48 PM
I’m preping to interview @berondam.bsky.social about her amazing new #BookSky release this week WHEN TREES TESTIFY and one of the points she makes is that enslavers kept better track of plants and animals than the enslaved people that they enslaved
One of the most important 🧪 books this decade.
One of the most important 🧪 books this decade.
Reposted by jayson m porter
BHL holds 63 million pages of biodiversity knowledge. Among them are all kinds of marvels, including "Marvels of the Universe", a lavishly illustrated early 20th-century celebration of astronomy, plants, animals, and the oceans. Explore it on BHL:
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography... 🧪
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography... 🧪
January 14, 2026 at 2:27 PM
BHL holds 63 million pages of biodiversity knowledge. Among them are all kinds of marvels, including "Marvels of the Universe", a lavishly illustrated early 20th-century celebration of astronomy, plants, animals, and the oceans. Explore it on BHL:
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography... 🧪
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography... 🧪
Reposted by jayson m porter
#WhenTreesTestify... "A Black-ass love note to trees and the power of reckoning with history" - @chanda.blacksky.app
Love this description with all my heart 😍😍😍
Love this description with all my heart 😍😍😍
On Tuesday I made a video explaining to people why it's important that they read this book, which is a Black-ass love note to trees and the power of reckoning with history. #BookSky
Earrings by Crystal Galindo
Pillows by Shanequa Gay
Earrings by Crystal Galindo
Pillows by Shanequa Gay
January 23, 2026 at 7:54 PM
#WhenTreesTestify... "A Black-ass love note to trees and the power of reckoning with history" - @chanda.blacksky.app
Love this description with all my heart 😍😍😍
Love this description with all my heart 😍😍😍
Reposted by jayson m porter
I recently got to reconnect & discuss When Trees Testify with one of my favorite people Maria Failla, host of the Growing Joy with Maria podcast.
I connected with plant and nature enthusiast Maria when my first book Lessons from Plants emerged. She's a gem!
growingjoywithmaria.com/whentreestes...
I connected with plant and nature enthusiast Maria when my first book Lessons from Plants emerged. She's a gem!
growingjoywithmaria.com/whentreestes...
Exploring the Intersection of Black American History, Culture, and Botany Through Trees with Beronda Montgomery, Ep 323 - Growing Joy with Maria
Learn how to grow plants in hot climates with Janey Santos of Dig Plant Water Repeat. Here are five tips to set you up for success!
growingjoywithmaria.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:06 PM
I recently got to reconnect & discuss When Trees Testify with one of my favorite people Maria Failla, host of the Growing Joy with Maria podcast.
I connected with plant and nature enthusiast Maria when my first book Lessons from Plants emerged. She's a gem!
growingjoywithmaria.com/whentreestes...
I connected with plant and nature enthusiast Maria when my first book Lessons from Plants emerged. She's a gem!
growingjoywithmaria.com/whentreestes...
Reposted by jayson m porter
This is tonight!
Upcoming 1/21 Roundtable on #Venezuela, #Oil, and Global #Politics w/ the Marxist Education Project, @matthuber.bsky.social @stevemaherecon.bsky.social @llchristyll.bsky.social & @cperezbustillo.bsky.social RSVP here: marxedproject.org/event/venezu...
Roundtable on Venezuela, Oil, and Global Politics - Marxist Education Project
Join us for a timely conversation among leading left critics of the Trump administration's attack on Venezuelan sovereignty and its attempt to seize that nation's oil wealth. Matt Huber challenges int...
marxedproject.org
January 21, 2026 at 4:36 PM
This is tonight!
Reposted by jayson m porter
realest to ever do it
On the 20th of January, 1973, Portuguese agents assassinated Amílcar Cabral, the anti-colonial revolutionary who led the struggle to liberate Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.
"Either we admit that there really is a struggle against imperialism which interests everybody, or we deny it."
"Either we admit that there really is a struggle against imperialism which interests everybody, or we deny it."
January 21, 2026 at 5:23 PM
realest to ever do it
Reposted by jayson m porter
Though California’s Imperial Valley might offer the world’s highest sugar beet tonnages, a mixture of lower production costs, modernized processing plants, and federal sugar policies have pushed the crop toward the upper Midwest.
Contributor @cetracey.bsky.social reports. ⬇️
Contributor @cetracey.bsky.social reports. ⬇️
After 150 Years, California’s Sugar Beet Industry Comes to an End
The Imperial Valley might be the best place in the world to grow beets. What went wrong with the California industry?
civileats.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Though California’s Imperial Valley might offer the world’s highest sugar beet tonnages, a mixture of lower production costs, modernized processing plants, and federal sugar policies have pushed the crop toward the upper Midwest.
Contributor @cetracey.bsky.social reports. ⬇️
Contributor @cetracey.bsky.social reports. ⬇️
Reposted by jayson m porter
On MLK Day, it’s important to remember why MLK Jr. was in Memphis when he was assassinated. He was there to support Black sanitation workers striking for better working conditions and higher wages. This, for me, a critical moment in the emergence of the environmental justice movement.
January 19, 2026 at 5:42 PM
On MLK Day, it’s important to remember why MLK Jr. was in Memphis when he was assassinated. He was there to support Black sanitation workers striking for better working conditions and higher wages. This, for me, a critical moment in the emergence of the environmental justice movement.
Reposted by jayson m porter
Instead of tipping them,
the “grab & go Gestapo” kidnapped their servers. 🤬
www.startribune.com/ice-agents-e...
the “grab & go Gestapo” kidnapped their servers. 🤬
www.startribune.com/ice-agents-e...
ICE agents eat at small-town Mexican restaurant — then detain workers
“Would your mama be proud of you right now?” a bystander said as agents returned at closing time to nab the workers.
www.startribune.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Instead of tipping them,
the “grab & go Gestapo” kidnapped their servers. 🤬
www.startribune.com/ice-agents-e...
the “grab & go Gestapo” kidnapped their servers. 🤬
www.startribune.com/ice-agents-e...
Reposted by jayson m porter
Yikes! I didn't realize my ebook habit was costing @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social so much money. It's a great benefit for DC residents.
Interesting legislative idea to band with states to pressure publishers. Thanks to @maustermuhle.bsky.social, @51st.news for the reporting.
51st.news/ebooks-are-e...
Interesting legislative idea to band with states to pressure publishers. Thanks to @maustermuhle.bsky.social, @51st.news for the reporting.
51st.news/ebooks-are-e...
Libraries can't afford e-books. D.C. lawmakers have a plan.
The demand and price for e-books is up — and it’s busting the D.C. Public Library budget.
51st.news
January 17, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Yikes! I didn't realize my ebook habit was costing @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social so much money. It's a great benefit for DC residents.
Interesting legislative idea to band with states to pressure publishers. Thanks to @maustermuhle.bsky.social, @51st.news for the reporting.
51st.news/ebooks-are-e...
Interesting legislative idea to band with states to pressure publishers. Thanks to @maustermuhle.bsky.social, @51st.news for the reporting.
51st.news/ebooks-are-e...
Reposted by jayson m porter
This is such a cool illustration of how the Mercator map distorts the size of Greenland, which looks as big as the whole continent of Africa on that map but is actually the size of Mexico.
January 18, 2026 at 7:43 PM
This is such a cool illustration of how the Mercator map distorts the size of Greenland, which looks as big as the whole continent of Africa on that map but is actually the size of Mexico.
Reposted by jayson m porter
This month I feature @roguechieftan.bsky.social, @sciencehistory.org, @thewalrus.ca, @whitehorsepress.bsky.social, @carsoncenter.bsky.social, @sarahjaquetteray.bsky.social, @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social, and more!
#envhist
#envhist
Our editor-in-chief, @jessicamdewitt.bsky.social, is back with her picks for environmental history worth reading from December!!
niche-canada.org/2026/01/13/e...
#envhist #envhum
niche-canada.org/2026/01/13/e...
#envhist #envhum
#EnvHist Worth Reading: December 2025
Find eco-fascism, maple syrup battles, and moldy insects in the latest list of environmental history worth reading from Jessica DeWitt.
niche-canada.org
January 17, 2026 at 5:17 PM
This month I feature @roguechieftan.bsky.social, @sciencehistory.org, @thewalrus.ca, @whitehorsepress.bsky.social, @carsoncenter.bsky.social, @sarahjaquetteray.bsky.social, @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social, and more!
#envhist
#envhist
Reposted by jayson m porter
This has been Israeli modus operandi since 1948, and indeed of Yishuv settlements before that: stage-by-stage occupauion of Palestinian land intended to take over maximum space and technically cleanse Palestinians.
The slow motion stage. Amidst the destruction and death, Israel has moved the yellow line another three hundred meters west.
January 16, 2026 at 8:43 AM
This has been Israeli modus operandi since 1948, and indeed of Yishuv settlements before that: stage-by-stage occupauion of Palestinian land intended to take over maximum space and technically cleanse Palestinians.
Reposted by jayson m porter
Long before railroads stitched continents together, mules and their Afro-Indigenous arrieros moved silver, sugar, cotton, and environmental knowledge across borders. In Distillations, @roguechieftan.bsky.social traces the mule as a tool of empire and a symbol of Black and Indigenous resistance. ⬇️
Mule Power
Unpacking empires and diaspora in Mexico and the United States.
www.sciencehistory.org
January 15, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Long before railroads stitched continents together, mules and their Afro-Indigenous arrieros moved silver, sugar, cotton, and environmental knowledge across borders. In Distillations, @roguechieftan.bsky.social traces the mule as a tool of empire and a symbol of Black and Indigenous resistance. ⬇️
For folks excited about Afro-Latin American environmental histories, please check out these incredible novels on Brazil. #BlackFiction
January 14, 2026 at 3:25 AM
For folks excited about Afro-Latin American environmental histories, please check out these incredible novels on Brazil. #BlackFiction
These new books look great. I write a lot on arsenic and would love to eventually teach a course on the social and political history of elements.
January 13, 2026 at 1:31 PM
These new books look great. I write a lot on arsenic and would love to eventually teach a course on the social and political history of elements.
Reposted by jayson m porter
Trump has aimed to turn American workers against their immigrant colleagues. Labor leaders say it backfired.
American Labor Needed Unity. Then Came Trump’s Immigration Crackdown.
Trump has aimed to turn American workers against their immigrant colleagues. Union leaders say it backfired.
interc.pt
January 1, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Trump has aimed to turn American workers against their immigrant colleagues. Labor leaders say it backfired.
2025 was a decent year of travel. I went to Senegal, Turkey, Canada, and London.
January 2, 2026 at 2:44 AM
2025 was a decent year of travel. I went to Senegal, Turkey, Canada, and London.
Reposted by jayson m porter
I’m so happy to host Beronda L. Montgomery in DC and College Park Feb 2-3!! When Trees Testify comes out in January 2026 and you can see her talk at both Howard (Feb 2) and University of Maryland, College Park (Feb 3). See you there!
December 27, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by jayson m porter
Listen if I could I would be there
I’m so happy to host Beronda L. Montgomery in DC and College Park Feb 2-3!! When Trees Testify comes out in January 2026 and you can see her talk at both Howard (Feb 2) and University of Maryland, College Park (Feb 3). See you there!
December 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Listen if I could I would be there
Reposted by jayson m porter
Looking forward to it!
I’m so happy to host Beronda L. Montgomery in DC and College Park Feb 2-3!! When Trees Testify comes out in January 2026 and you can see her talk at both Howard (Feb 2) and University of Maryland, College Park (Feb 3). See you there!
December 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Looking forward to it!