In this work, Carl Anthony shares his perspectives as an African-American child in post-World War II Philadelphia; a student and civil rights activist in 1960s Harlem; a traveling student of West African architecture; and an architect, planner, and environmental justice advocate in Berkeley. He contextualizes this within American urbanism and human origins, making profoundly personal both African American and American urban histories as well as planetary origins and environmental issues, to not only bring a new worldview to people of color, but to set forth a truly inclusive vision of our shared planetary future. The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race connects the logics behind slavery, community disinvestment, and environmental exploitation to address the most pressing issues of our time in a cohesive and foundational manner. Most books dealing with these topics and periods silo issues apart from one another, but this book contextualizes the connections between social movements and issues, providing tremendous insight into successful movement building. Anthony's rich narrative describes both being at the mercy of racism, urban disinvestment, and environmental injustice as well as fighting against these forces with a variety of strategies. Because this work is both a personal memoir and an exposition of ideas, it will appeal to those who appreciate thoughtful and unique writing on issues of race, including individuals exploring their own African American identity, as well as progressive audiences of organizations and community leaders and professionals interested in democratizing power and advancing equitable policies for low-income communities and historically disenfranchised communities.
About the Author: Carl Anthony is an architect, regional planner, and social justice leader. He is currently co-founder of the Breakthrough Communities Project and Visiting Professor at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change. Anthony is revered as the founder and former executive director of Urban Habitat, one of the country's oldest environmental justice organizations, known for pushing the mainstream environmental movement to confront issues of race and class. He still serves on its board of directors.

With colleague, Luke Cole at the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Carl Anthony published and edited Race, Poverty and Environment Journal, the first environmental justice periodical in the country.

From 1991 through 1997, Anthony served as president of Earth Island Institute, an international environmental organization founded by David Brower. In 1993, Congressman Ron Dellums appointed Carl Anthony Chair and Principal Administrative Officer of the East Bay Conversion and Reinvestment Commission. The commission was charged with overseeing a national pilot project to guide the closure of 500 military bases in the US, to re-envision the role of the National Laboratories, and to implement the conversion of five military bases in Alameda County.

From 2001 to 2006, Anthony served as director of the Ford Foundation's Community and Resource Development Unit, where he led the foundation's Sustainable Metropolitan Communities Initiative and their Regional Equity Demonstration in the United States. More recently he served as a Visiting Scholar/Ford Foundation Senior Fellow in the Department of Geography at the University of California Berkeley.

In tribute to Carl Anthony's lifelong devotion to policy initiatives addressing racial and economic equity, the Gamaliel organization created the Carl Anthony Legacy Award in 2013. The award is given annually to honor those dedicated to working for social and environmental justice.

Mr. Anthony has taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Planning and the University of California Colleges of Environmental Design and Natural Resources. He has been an advisor to the Stanford University Law School on issues of environmental justice. Mr. Anthony has a professional degree in architecture from Columbia University. In 1996, he was appointed Fellow at the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.