User:H0n0r/sandbox/TanishaWilliams

Tanisha Williams is a botanist and Burpee Postdoc Fellow in Botany at Bucknell University. She is known for founding Black Botanists Week or #BlackBotanistsWeek.

Advocacy
In 2020, Williams founded the first Black Botanists Week. After participating in Black Birders Week, a response to the Central Park birdwatching incident of the same year, Williams decided to create a week for Black people in botany. "I participated in Black Birders Week and felt a sense of joy. It was nice seeing so many Black people enjoy nature, hiking, and birding. I wanted to bring that joy and representation to the botanical fields." Williams recruited a board of advisors including Beronda Montgomery and Nokwanda Makunga and as part of the first week, commemorated the late Lynika Strozier.

After the first week, Williams partnered with the Holden Arboretum to hold a weekly lecture series called “Growing Black Roots: The Black Botanical Legacy.”

Dr. Williams has spoken up about how Black scientists are perceived while conducting fieldwork, and explained her own precautions before going to work: “I’ve been quizzed by random strangers,” she said. “Now I bring my wildflower books and botanical field guides, trying to look like a scientist. It’s for other people. I wouldn’t otherwise lug these books.”

Work
In 2020, Williams spoke to the Washington Post about the effects of Climate Change on tree species and leaf colors. In 2021, Williams appeared on NPR to explain how leaves change color, and opened the field of botany to anyone who loves plants.