Beronda L. Montgomery
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berondam.bsky.social
Beronda L. Montgomery
@berondam.bsky.social
6.6K followers 150 following 370 posts
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
Posts Replies Media Videos
berondam.bsky.social
I've long admired @ruha9.bsky.social's work, activism & "life model." When we met & I served as discussant for her last year, I felt a connectedness that has grown. It was a gift beyond measure for her provide comment for "When Trees Testify" (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social / @macmillanusa.bsky.social)
Text that reads: When Trees Testify by @beronda_m "A journey through science and the sacred, When Trees Testify is a revelation! Gently tracing the roots of Black land trauma-from poplar trees that bore strange fruit to cotton bolls soaked with the tears of the enslaved-Beronda Montgomery invites us to reckon with a botanical inheritance long buried beneath silence and sorrow. This powerful book illuminates an ennobling legacy... I will never see a tree the same way again." -Ruha Benjamin, award-winning author
November 15, 2025 at 8:06 PM
berondam.bsky.social
THE @imaniperry.bsky.social on When Trees Testify (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social):
A beautiful journey through the imagination & intellect of one of our most important contemporary science writer...an inheritor of the Black ecological tradition, who brings her heart & knowledge to bear on the world...
Picture of book When Trees Testify with text that reads: "A beautiful journey through the imagination and intellect of one of our most important contemporary science writers. Montgomery is an inheritor of the Black ecological tradition, who brings her heart and knowledge to bear on the world around us, offering deep illumination and abundant wisdom." -Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of South to America
November 14, 2025 at 9:27 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Thanks @dghaskell.bsky.social re: When Trees Testify (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social)
"Absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in the convergences of human & plant lives. Full of joy, sorrow & brilliant insight, this book forever changed how I think about trees & American ecology & history."
Picture of my forthcoming book When Trees Testify with text that reads: "Absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in the convergences of human and plant lives. Full of joy, sorrow, and brilliant insight, this book forever changed how I think about trees and American ecology and history." -David George Haskell, biologist and two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist When Trees Testify Science, Wisdom, History. and America's Black Botanical O Legacy BERONDA L. MONTGOMERY H
November 13, 2025 at 6:20 PM
berondam.bsky.social
From @katieholten.bsky.social, "The Language of Trees"

"Trees invite us into the entangled lives, loves & freedom struggles of those who came before us & those who will come after us. I learned things about trees & people that made me laugh, cry & gasp in wonder. I wish everyone could read it."
Picture of book When Trees Testify with text that reads: "When Trees Testify is a profound journey into the heart of America. Trees invite us into the entangled lives, loves, and freedom struggles of those who came before us and those who will come after us. I learned things about trees and people that made me laugh, cry, and gasp in wonder. I wish everyone could read it." -Katie Holten, bestselling author of The Language of Trees When Trees Testify Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical O Legacy BERONDA L. MONTGOMERY
November 12, 2025 at 6:56 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Amazing & inspiring conversation between author @aravensgrace.bsky.social on her new book "Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival" with @kiese.bsky.social. About mushrooms/fungi, Blackness & SO much more.
Book event flyer with text that reads: Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival --Maria Pinto in Conversation with Kiese Laymon November 11th, 2025 7:30 PM EST Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival MARIA PINTO Kiese Laymon A Charis Virtual Event Tuesday, November 11th at 7:30 PM EST
November 12, 2025 at 1:02 AM
berondam.bsky.social
Words from Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction on "When Trees Testify":
"Beronda L. Montgomery draws on the experience of Black American...growing up in Arkansas, and her expertise as a plant scientist to....A fascinating, informative, and deeply moving book."
Picture of book When Trees Testify with text that reads: "Beronda L. Montgomery draws on the experience of Black Americans, her memories of growing up in Arkansas, and her expertise as a plant scientist to reflect on the deep connections between botany and history.... A fascinating, informative, and deeply moving book." -Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction When Trees Testify Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical O Legacy BERONDA L. MONTGOMERY
November 11, 2025 at 5:52 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Grateful for @koshersoul.bsky.social's words about #WhenTreesTestify:
"We have been waiting for this. A botanical memoir, a history, a history with a Black lens-that takes us from roots to branches...an electric, bold weaving of ethnobotany, personal memoir, spirit and science and I am here for it"
Picture of book "When Trees Testify" with text that reads: "We have been waiting for this. A botanical memoir, a history, a history with a Black lens-that takes us from roots to branches giving us the keys to an alternative retelling of the American landscape and the ways plants mark who we are and where we've been. This is an electric, bold weaving of ethnobotany, personal memoir, spirit and science and I am here for it." -MICHAEL W. TWITTY, award-winning author of The Cooking Gene When Trees Testify Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical O Legacy BERONDA L. MONTGOMERY H
November 10, 2025 at 9:06 PM
berondam.bsky.social
When Trees Testify coming from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social Jan. 20, 2026 sitting pretty with other forthcoming books & reviewed in @publisherswkly.bsky.social
Publishers Weekly Reviews with image of a stack of 19 books with "When Trees Testify" by Beronda L. Montgomery sitting on top
November 6, 2025 at 2:39 PM
berondam.bsky.social
In discussion of her new book "Peril & Promise: College Leadership in Turbulent Times" Dr Beverly Daniel Tatum/BDT with Dr Ruth J. Simmons/RJS, former Univ./College Presidents discuss current challenges, opportunities & morals/ethics in higher ed leadership. Host @umich.edu & @umichncid.bsky.social
Two Black women,(Beverly Daniel Tatum, left; Ruth J. Simmons, right) sitting in chairs on stage Black woman, Beverly Daniel Tatum, sitting in chair on stage holding microphone Black woman, Ruth J. Simmons, sitting in chair on stage holding microphone
November 4, 2025 at 12:39 AM
berondam.bsky.social
I met this beautiful cotton tree on Oct 21 in Falmouth, Jamaica days before we had any idea Hurricane Melissa would come. I stood with it with my Falmouth family remarking on what it had seen & memories it carries with no idea of what it and we would experience in the days to come.
#jamaicaonelove🇯🇲❤️
Close up of trunk of large cotton tree in Jamaica Cotton tree in Jamaica
November 3, 2025 at 12:38 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Educators and Librarians:
Thursday Oct. 23rd join @libraryjournal.bsky.social's Day of Dialog for a great program! I'll participate in the panel (1:00-1:50 PM ET) Hidden Legacies: Unearthing Black Histories" with Clyde W. Ford, Wil Haygood, @brianjoneseducator.bsky.social
Moderator: Grace D. Gipson
LJ DAY OF DIALOG FREE VIRTUAL EVENT OCTOBER 23, 2025!!!! HOME PROGRAM SPEAKERS Join us October 23 for our Library Journal Day of Dialog virtual event! Spanning a variety of genres, this free, day-long program will offer an in-depth look at the biggest forthcoming books for fall/winter 2025. You'll hear directly from top authors as they discuss their new titles, inspiration, process, and more. And don't forget the virtual exhibit hall! Visit the booths to download free resources and chat with publishing representatives. EVENT HOURS: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET REGISTER 1:00-1:50 PM ET | Hidden Legacies: Unearthing Black Histories Explore overlooked stories, new perspectives, and powerful narratives. Clyde W. Ford, A High Price for Freedom (Amistad: HarperCollins) Wil Haygood, The War Within a War (Knopf: Penguin Random House) Brian Jones, Black History Is for Everyone (Haymarket Books: Haymarket) Beronda L. Montgomery, When Trees Testify (Henry Holt and Co.: Macmillan) Moderator: Dr. Grace D. Gipson, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University Cover of book "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy" by Beronda L. Montgomery
October 19, 2025 at 12:24 AM
berondam.bsky.social
Although I heard them speak separately at a book festival, what a joy to experience @aleliabundles.bsky.social (author of Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance) & @dolenperkinsvaldez.bsky.social (author of Happy Land) in convo on their biography and historical fiction, respectively.
Two Black women authors, A'Lelia Bundles (left) and Dolen Perkins-Valdez (right)
October 7, 2025 at 11:11 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Ran into this amazing human being @itsafronomics.bsky.social in a crosswalk. Though our first in person meeting, I'm a big fan of Anna's work & vision. If you've not picked her new book The Double Tax do it now!
Also pre-order my next book, When Trees Testify too!
Link: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
Two Black women, Anna Gifty and Beronda Montgomery, smiling while standing outside
October 7, 2025 at 10:06 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Editing proofs of "Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: Ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education" with Joseph Whittaker on willingness vs readiness to support institutional transformation

www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
First page of article with text that reads; Frontiers in Education TYPE Conceptual Analysis PUBLISHED XX xx 2025 DOI 10.3389/feduc.2025.1571030 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY David Pérez-Jorge, University of La Laguna, Spain REVIEWED BY Nikita Lad, George Mason University, United States Itahisa Pérez Pérez. University of La Laguna, Spain *CORRESPONDENCE 55] Beronda L. Montgomery berondam@gmail.com RECEIVED 04 February 2025 ACCEPT Whittaker JA and Montgomery BL (2025) Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education Joseph A. Whittaker¹ and Beronda L. Montgomery²* Global Advisors and Analysts, LLC, Grayson, GA. United States, "Department of Biology, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, United States Many colleges and universities purport agendas involving strategies centered on the readiness to diversify the faculty, staff, and student bodies, modernize curricula, and promote innovation in research and discovery, among other advancements. However, higher education institutions remain reticent in addressing these variables over the long term and are slow to change. In this article, we argue that impediments to change continue to exist because many conflate willingness to change with readiness for change. We seek to support institutions in identifying and amplifying facilitators-both progressive leaders and stakeholders-who will be supported to assess an institution's current state and to advocate, facilitate, and help lead the shift to a state of...
September 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Today's writing session was not flowing & I knew exactly what to do instead, catch up on Inkubator Free Writing Conference ( #CleInk25 ) session "Get Real: Being Vulnerable in Fact and Fiction" w/ @deeshaphilyaw.bsky.social + Kiese Laymon hosted by
@literarycleveland.bsky.social
Mod by Kenyon Farrow
Inkubator Free Writing Conference Deesha Philyaw + Kiese Laymon Get Real: Being Vulnerable in Fact and Fiction: Virtual Prose Panel Wed. Sep. 10 - 7:00 PM ET African American writer Kiese Laymon African American writer Deesha Philyaw
September 17, 2025 at 9:22 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Congratulations @itsafronomics.bsky.social on launch day for "The Double Tax"!!!

Keep soaring, inspiring and informing!
Book "The Double Tax" by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman standing in orange cardboard box on a desk surrounded by yellow graffiti
September 16, 2025 at 6:59 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Awesome insights on writing themes, practices & more from @eveewing.bsky.social
(pictured upper left) & @imaniperry.bsky.social (upper right) during "Stories We Tell: How History Shapes Us" event with moderator Joy R. Bostic (lower center) for conference convened by @literarycleveland.bsky.social.
Three Black women: Eve Ewing (upper left), Imani Perry (upper right), Joy Bostic
September 8, 2025 at 11:37 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Cover of "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy"!!! published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
I can't tell you all adequately how proud of & eager I am to share this with the world!!!
Coming January 20, 2026
Pre-order NOW: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
September 8, 2025 at 6:32 PM
berondam.bsky.social
#WhenTreesTestify loading.
New Voices New Rooms 2025
@henryholtbooks.bsky.social
My new book coming Jan 2026
Gift bags, name tags, pens and pins on wooden desk Cityscape looking out & down building window
August 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Some advance copies of my next book "When Trees Testify" have gone out into the world.

Release date: January 20, 2026

What a journey it has been thus far, and looking forward to the continuing journey ahead.

#WhenTreesTestify
#WhenTreesTestifyTheBook
Image of stack of four copies of the book "When Trees Testify" by Beronda Montgomery with text above that reads "#WhenTreesTestify Coming Jan. 2026'"
June 18, 2025 at 12:45 AM
berondam.bsky.social
What an amazing @nationalbook.bsky.social event celebrating my new "literary sister" Ramona Ausubel, winner of 2025 NBF Science + Literature award for her novel "The Last Animal." Thanks MCCNEB host Liz Kay (@lizkay.bsky.social)& NBF's Natalie Green. Amazing celebration of writing & writers!
Two women smiling (Ramona Ausubel, left and Beronda Montgomery, right) in front of banner that reads national book foundation Two women (Ramona Ausubel, top and Beronda Montgomery, lower) seated at table signing books with three individuals standing in front of them. Four women smiling (left to right, Liz Kay, Ramona Ausubel, Beronda Montgomery, and Natalie Green) in front of banner that reads national book foundation
May 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Amazing day @ Chicago Botanic Garden! From the beautifully plant-bedecked stage to discuss "Lessons from Plants" to a behind the scenes tour of the bonsai collection & production greenhouses to a personal tour of the beautiful gardens. It was my first time, but it most certainly won't be my last!
To left, stage with table and two chairs with plants and black cloth backdrop in background; To right, screen with projected logo and text that reads "Chicago Botanic Garden"
April 9, 2025 at 10:28 PM
berondam.bsky.social
Forthcoming articles cont'd:

2. "Ecosystem Assessment & Translating a Groundskeeping Framework into Practice for Promoting Systemic Change in Higher Education" in Frontiers in Education (www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...)

Collaborative work by @berondam.bsky.social & @sherilynnblack.bsky.social
Screenshot of article that reads: Frontiers in Education Sections Articles Research Topics Editorial board About journal CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS article Front. Educ. Sec. STEM Education Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1472703 This article is part of the Research Topic Building Tomorrow’s Biomedical Workforce: Evaluation of How Evidence-Based Training Programs Align Skill Development and Career Awareness with a Broad Array of Professions View all 18 articles Ecosystem Assessment and Translating a Groundskeeping Framework into Practice for Promoting Systemic Change in Higher Education Provisionally accepted Beronda L Montgomery 1* Sherilynn J Black 2 1 Grinnell College, Grinnell, United States 2 Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon. Many institutions include equity as a stated foundational value of their academic
April 7, 2025 at 7:43 AM
berondam.bsky.social
Two new articles accepted and coming soon:

1. "What We Get Wrong about Equity and How It Keeps Us from Achieving Inclusive Excellence" by @berondam.bsky.social I. Zeal Journal (zeal.kings.edu/zeal)

Written in context of higher education but implications far beyond.

#Equity
#InclusiveExcellence
Screenshot of forthcoming article that reads: What We Get Wrong about Equity and How It Keeps Us from Achieving Inclusive Excellence Beronda L. Montgomery Grinnell College “The messiness of history is often dispensed with for the sake of the imagined community. And that should always concern us.” – Imani Perry, South to America Current challenges across higher education are causing us to confront what we hold as truth, and perhaps more importantly what we effectively enact. Equity is one value and principle held as a stated priority in segments of higher education and larger society. Many academic institutions purport to pursue and promote equity in their communities and work. The number of institutions publicly declaring such commitments to diversity and equity appeared to skyrocket across higher education and corporate America in summer to late 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. In addition to stated commitments to address systemic racism and pursue equity, many organizations made practical steps toward improving equity, including hiring diversity officers or staff to work on areas aligned with espoused
April 7, 2025 at 7:29 AM
berondam.bsky.social
Book is in; now finalizing essay "What we get wrong about equity & how it keeps us from achieving inclusive excellence"
Opens w/ @imaniperry.bsky.social
quote (South to America): "The messiness of history is often dispensed with for the sake of the imagined community...that should always concern us"
Open laptop next to coffee cup with coffeeshop in background
March 21, 2025 at 4:14 PM