Join us as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of Root Shock:

On Friday, June 7th we will hear from scholars, activists, artists and researchers from the US and Ireland to launch our special issue of Built Environment with the theme Root Shock 20 at an online symposium. In the afternoon we will visit the Root Shock exhibit at the Orange Public Library, created by Dr. Mindy Fullilove's students at the New School.

On Saturday, June 8th we will have an afternoon of readings, reflections, films, live music and great local food at the HUUB.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Twenty years ago, in her book Root Shock, Dr. Fullilove prophesied that displacement would be the problem the 21st century must solve. Because of the situation we’re in now – with complex intersecting problems, such as climate change, financialization of housing, post-pandemic adjustment, and migration crises – we are, indeed, seeing displacement all around us. As Dr. Fullilove showed in her book, displacement leaves people stressed, angry, depressed, frightened, confused, and concerned. This is what she called “root shock,” the traumatic stress reaction to the loss of all or part of one’s emotional ecosystem. We believe that, because of the scale of the intersecting problems, massive upheaval is causing WORLDWIDE root shock. On the 20th anniversary of its publication, we want to revisit the book and the story it tells of 1950s urban renewal that bulldozed African American neighborhoods in hundreds of US cities. It’s a poorly understood story, but Fullilove’s analysis holds lessons for this precarious moment in world history. 

Thank you to our sponsors: The UMKC Center for Neighborhoods, The Fannie E. Rippel Foundation, The David Rockefeller Fund, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, The Regional Plan Association, Faith + Works UU Congregation of Orange, Jandon Center at Smith College, HANDS, Inc., New Village Press, Design Studio for Social Intervention, The HUUB, VOLAR