Beronda L. Montgomery
@berondam.bsky.social
Living my purpose
Writer:
Books #LessonsFromPlants (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674241282) & #WhenTreesTestify (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250335166/whentreestestify/)
Professor
#Leadership|#Mentoring|#EquityReadingList/#DEIReadingList
Writer:
Books #LessonsFromPlants (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674241282) & #WhenTreesTestify (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250335166/whentreestestify/)
Professor
#Leadership|#Mentoring|#EquityReadingList/#DEIReadingList
Pinned
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
#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 😍😍😍
Happening now on Black Authors Matter TV on Facebook featuring @nicolegloverauthor.bsky.social, Suzetta Perkins, Edwina Dorch, and @berondam.bsky.social
Sponsored by National Black Book Festival & hosted by Rhonda Lawson & Gwen Richardson.
#WhenTreesTestify out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
Sponsored by National Black Book Festival & hosted by Rhonda Lawson & Gwen Richardson.
#WhenTreesTestify out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
January 28, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Happening now on Black Authors Matter TV on Facebook featuring @nicolegloverauthor.bsky.social, Suzetta Perkins, Edwina Dorch, and @berondam.bsky.social
Sponsored by National Black Book Festival & hosted by Rhonda Lawson & Gwen Richardson.
#WhenTreesTestify out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
Sponsored by National Black Book Festival & hosted by Rhonda Lawson & Gwen Richardson.
#WhenTreesTestify out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
"One of the powerful ways trees connect us is through the experiences so many have with a favorite tree."
Read Chaya Schechner’s interview with “When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy” author Beronda L. Montgomery.
Read Chaya Schechner’s interview with “When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy” author Beronda L. Montgomery.
America’s Legacy of Black History Is Tangled in Its Trees - Electric Literature
Beronda L. Montgomery’s “When Trees Testify” considers the plants that store African American knowledge, resilience, and hope
buff.ly
January 27, 2026 at 6:00 PM
"One of the powerful ways trees connect us is through the experiences so many have with a favorite tree."
Read Chaya Schechner’s interview with “When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy” author Beronda L. Montgomery.
Read Chaya Schechner’s interview with “When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy” author Beronda L. Montgomery.
New interview on When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy with Chaya Schechner in @electricliterature.com. Also what I am reading now incl works of @imaniperry.bsky.social, @mariapintob.bsky.social, Jarvis Mcinnis et al
electricliterature.com/americas-leg...
electricliterature.com/americas-leg...
America’s Legacy of Black History Is Tangled in Its Trees - Electric Literature
Beronda L. Montgomery’s “When Trees Testify” considers the plants that store African American knowledge, resilience, and hope
electricliterature.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:04 PM
New interview on When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy with Chaya Schechner in @electricliterature.com. Also what I am reading now incl works of @imaniperry.bsky.social, @mariapintob.bsky.social, Jarvis Mcinnis et al
electricliterature.com/americas-leg...
electricliterature.com/americas-leg...
Join me in about an hour at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET (or replay later) as I discuss When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social)
with Tavis Smiley:
YouTube.com/@KBLA1580
#WhenTreesTestify
with Tavis Smiley:
YouTube.com/@KBLA1580
#WhenTreesTestify
KBLA 1580
Connect with KBLA TALK 1580 Online
The station that sounds like the city looks. Empowerment and entertainment. We are engagement radio, not outrage radio.
Our station fosters an enlightening, sustai...
YouTube.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Join me in about an hour at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET (or replay later) as I discuss When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social)
with Tavis Smiley:
YouTube.com/@KBLA1580
#WhenTreesTestify
with Tavis Smiley:
YouTube.com/@KBLA1580
#WhenTreesTestify
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
How an Enslaved Gardener Transformed the Pecan Into a Cash Crop
Beronda L. Montgomery on the Unsung Contributions of Black and Indigenous People to American Biology
lithub.com/how-an-ensla...
Beronda L. Montgomery on the Unsung Contributions of Black and Indigenous People to American Biology
lithub.com/how-an-ensla...
How an Enslaved Gardener Transformed the Pecan Into a Cash Crop
Pecan nuts were already a dietary staple for Native Americans in various parts of what is now the United States before Antoine’s innovation established the basis for a commercial pecan industry. Th…
lithub.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:50 AM
How an Enslaved Gardener Transformed the Pecan Into a Cash Crop
Beronda L. Montgomery on the Unsung Contributions of Black and Indigenous People to American Biology
lithub.com/how-an-ensla...
Beronda L. Montgomery on the Unsung Contributions of Black and Indigenous People to American Biology
lithub.com/how-an-ensla...
Really enjoyed this documentary on Black families & land directed by Jennifer MacArthur, featuring Nikki Jeffries and Tyrone & Edna Williams. I certainly have trees on my mind with the debut of #WhenTreesTestify last Tuesday, so finally took this from the "to be watched" to "enjoyed watching" list.
intimate and visionary process of protecting Black legacies through environmental sustainability.
www.imdb.com/title/tt3203...
(5/5)
www.imdb.com/title/tt3203...
(5/5)
Family Tree (2024) ⭐ 9.2 | Documentary
1h 33m
www.imdb.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Really enjoyed this documentary on Black families & land directed by Jennifer MacArthur, featuring Nikki Jeffries and Tyrone & Edna Williams. I certainly have trees on my mind with the debut of #WhenTreesTestify last Tuesday, so finally took this from the "to be watched" to "enjoyed watching" list.
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
Concentration camp victims protest! The incredible bravery and fortitude and care involved in doing this ✊🏽
‘some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”‘
‘some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”‘
Immigrant families protest at Texas facility housing 5-year-old boy, father detained in Minnesota
Dozens of immigrant families protested behind the fences of a Texas detention facility where a 5-year-old boy Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent this week after being detained in Minnesota.
apnews.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Concentration camp victims protest! The incredible bravery and fortitude and care involved in doing this ✊🏽
‘some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”‘
‘some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”‘
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
“.. He cared about people deeply ..,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong ..”
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
January 24, 2026 at 10:22 PM
“.. He cared about people deeply ..,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong ..”
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
It's here, it's here! I WAS puzzled when I saw a book was in the mail, because my recent orders had already arrived but I immediately remembered the preorder when I opened it up! 🥰
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 PM
It's here, it's here! I WAS puzzled when I saw a book was in the mail, because my recent orders had already arrived but I immediately remembered the preorder when I opened it up! 🥰
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
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 2:21 PM
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
#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 😍😍😍
So many leaders and I institutions obeyed in advance, rapidly and completely, rather than fight back like they did for grant funding & NIH indirect cost limits...So when a threat works, sometimes the bully can lay down their weapons.
apnews.com/article/dei-...
apnews.com/article/dei-...
Trump administration drops legal appeal over anti-DEI funding threat to schools and colleges
The Trump administration is dropping its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked a campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion threatening federal funding to the nation’s schools and colle...
apnews.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:46 PM
So many leaders and I institutions obeyed in advance, rapidly and completely, rather than fight back like they did for grant funding & NIH indirect cost limits...So when a threat works, sometimes the bully can lay down their weapons.
apnews.com/article/dei-...
apnews.com/article/dei-...
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
If people have to tell a more honest story about George Washington it means they have to tell a more honest story about America. And if they have to tell a more honest story about America it means they have to tell a more honest story about themselves. And many people simply don’t want to do that.
January 22, 2026 at 10:27 PM
If people have to tell a more honest story about George Washington it means they have to tell a more honest story about America. And if they have to tell a more honest story about America it means they have to tell a more honest story about themselves. And many people simply don’t want to do that.
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
George Washington was many things over the course of his lifetime. He was a president, he was general, he was a planter, he was a husband. He was also an enslaver. In order to understand who Washington was, you have to hold all of those things together. You can’t run from the parts you don’t like.
January 22, 2026 at 10:36 PM
George Washington was many things over the course of his lifetime. He was a president, he was general, he was a planter, he was a husband. He was also an enslaver. In order to understand who Washington was, you have to hold all of those things together. You can’t run from the parts you don’t like.
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
Want to signal boost Beronda's promotion of her book here because she's right that her book is exactly about this question of what America was and is and to whom
It is a needed rejoinder to those who would have us believe nationalist propaganda rather than the truth
It is a needed rejoinder to those who would have us believe nationalist propaganda rather than the truth
To be real it's not even just revision, it's negation of history in many cases.
This phenomenon, indeed persistent pursuit by many white Americans, contributed to my writing When Trees Testify (from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social)
Available now, wherever books are sold.
This phenomenon, indeed persistent pursuit by many white Americans, contributed to my writing When Trees Testify (from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social)
Available now, wherever books are sold.
January 23, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Want to signal boost Beronda's promotion of her book here because she's right that her book is exactly about this question of what America was and is and to whom
It is a needed rejoinder to those who would have us believe nationalist propaganda rather than the truth
It is a needed rejoinder to those who would have us believe nationalist propaganda rather than the truth
Many prefer revisionist history because for them facing the full truth is "corrosive". Actively revising the telling of history--not the reality of it--while simultaneously actively reproducing aspects of the worst of it in real time is a long-term US project & shame.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
National Park Service Dismantles Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Many prefer revisionist history because for them facing the full truth is "corrosive". Actively revising the telling of history--not the reality of it--while simultaneously actively reproducing aspects of the worst of it in real time is a long-term US project & shame.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
This is America bsky.app/profile/chan...
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 1:49 PM
This is America bsky.app/profile/chan...
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
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.
Thanks for including #WhenTreesTestify on this list @seattletimes.com!
The book out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social wherever books are sold.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
The book out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social wherever books are sold.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
Celebrate Black History Month with these 5 reads
King County Library System Executive Director Heidi Daniel recommends books that have helped her learn more about Black history, culture and lived experience.
www.seattletimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Thanks for including #WhenTreesTestify on this list @seattletimes.com!
The book out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social wherever books are sold.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
The book out now from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social wherever books are sold.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
So enjoyed conversation about When Trees Testify (published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social) with @rad-institute.bsky.social
Born Curious podcast.
Check out Episode 504: The Stories Trees Hold—America’s Black Botanical Legacy
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ide...
Born Curious podcast.
Check out Episode 504: The Stories Trees Hold—America’s Black Botanical Legacy
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ide...
Episode 504: The Stories Trees Hold—America’s Black Botanical Legacy | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu
January 23, 2026 at 12:45 AM
So enjoyed conversation about When Trees Testify (published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social) with @rad-institute.bsky.social
Born Curious podcast.
Check out Episode 504: The Stories Trees Hold—America’s Black Botanical Legacy
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ide...
Born Curious podcast.
Check out Episode 504: The Stories Trees Hold—America’s Black Botanical Legacy
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ide...
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
Um... so today I was on @cbsmornings.bsky.social. 🤯
I talked to Jericka Duncan about why Black women matter to our economy. CBS called me a "Harvard Economist" (bruh). And Gayle King read my book, #TheDoubleTax. I'm in disbelief.
Here's a clip from our segment. #blacksky #news #jobs
I talked to Jericka Duncan about why Black women matter to our economy. CBS called me a "Harvard Economist" (bruh). And Gayle King read my book, #TheDoubleTax. I'm in disbelief.
Here's a clip from our segment. #blacksky #news #jobs
January 23, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Um... so today I was on @cbsmornings.bsky.social. 🤯
I talked to Jericka Duncan about why Black women matter to our economy. CBS called me a "Harvard Economist" (bruh). And Gayle King read my book, #TheDoubleTax. I'm in disbelief.
Here's a clip from our segment. #blacksky #news #jobs
I talked to Jericka Duncan about why Black women matter to our economy. CBS called me a "Harvard Economist" (bruh). And Gayle King read my book, #TheDoubleTax. I'm in disbelief.
Here's a clip from our segment. #blacksky #news #jobs
Thanks to Kristian Beverly for this opportunity to chat about #WhenTreesTestify (published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social), out this week wherever books are sold.
beverlybooks.binderybooks.com/item/VNKlPrD...
beverlybooks.binderybooks.com/item/VNKlPrD...
Beverly Books | When Trees Testify: An Author Interview...
beverlybooks.binderybooks.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Thanks to Kristian Beverly for this opportunity to chat about #WhenTreesTestify (published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanpubusa.bsky.social), out this week wherever books are sold.
beverlybooks.binderybooks.com/item/VNKlPrD...
beverlybooks.binderybooks.com/item/VNKlPrD...
Thank you!!
Happy Pub Week to Beronda L. Montgomery! #newrelease #WhenTreesTestify #Botanical #BerondaLMontgomery
{2026 New Release} When Trees Testify : Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by: Beronda L. Montgomery
This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees. The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine.
blackpageturners.wordpress.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Thank you!!
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
This was on the doorstep when I got I home today!
January 22, 2026 at 4:56 AM
This was on the doorstep when I got I home today!