Harvard professor and author Susan Crawford takes an unflinching look at the intersecting crises of climate change and systemic racism in Charleston in her new book released April 4.
Charleston: Race, Water and the Coming Storm weaves together vibrant stories of Charleston residents and highlights the city’s role in centuries of racism and gentrification. The book demonstrates the interconnectedness of the growing climate crisis — namely, the Holy City’s flooding problem and how it impacts residents.
Crawford comes to Charleston this week to discuss her book, first with a Wednesday appearance at Hed Hi Studios on King Street in discussion with mayoral candidate Mika Gadsden from 6:30-8:30 p.m. On Thursday, Crawford will have a conversation with equal justice law fellow Michelle A. Mapp at Itinerant Literate Books in North Charleston. On Friday, Crawford speaks with the Rev. Joseph A. Darby at Buxton Books downtown.
Crawford’s multifaceted career starts with time spent as a law firm partner, and then a law professor. She served as former President Obama’s Special Assistant for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy in 2009. In her time working as a columnist for the magazine WIRED, Crawford was a champion for net neutrality.
“I have been fortunate to have an interesting and constantly evolving career,” she said. “Writing about internet access for years prepared me to learn and write about sea level rise. What does everyone with a belly button need to thrive? What is the role of government? I’ve been lucky to get to grapple with these questions.”
When Crawford started writing the book five years ago, she was originally interested in learning about climate change in Charleston. But, as she interviewed and learned from locals, it became clear this was a multifaceted issue with factors of race and class playing major roles. Over five years, it became a quest for Crawford to uncover the full story.
“Wealthy people will be fine as the waters rise astonishingly quickly in the years to come,” she said. “But poorer Charlestonians, many of whom are Black, will not. If you think the role of government is to protect its citizens, and not just provide a framework for economic growth, failing to talk about the need to move seems like poor behavior.”
Crawford said a conversation with former Mayor Joe Riley in 2018 prompted her to start researching the topic.
“I interviewed Mayor Riley and was struck by how few words he had to say about the city’s water issues.”
Crawford attended the Dutch Dialogues, a collaborative effort in 2019 between the Historic Charleston Foundation and the city of Charleston, which brought together national and international water experts to conceptualize the future of water in Charleston and noticed very few Black Charleston residents were in attendance.
“I first came to Charleston thinking I was going to tell a story of triumphant, or at least caring, local government,” she said. “The story turned out to be much more complex than that, and I was lucky to be given the opportunity to understand and document some of those complexities.”
Crawford has witnessed firsthand the flooding problem during her many trips to Charleston, recalling multiple occasions of seeing signs for closed roads along the west side of the peninsula. This experience has become so normal for residents that it has created complacency, Crawford said.
The trouble, she said, is that the flooding is going to rapidly accelerate in frequency and severity, the groundwaters are going to keep rising and the rainstorms will get heavier and last longer. Complacency won’t serve us when our city is underwater.
“Eventually, in a matter of decades and not centuries, all that water won’t be leaving. Chronic flooding and persistent inundation will undoubtedly get everyone’s attention,” she said.
When asked what was the most difficult part of putting the book together, she said that “drawing a boundary around the story told by the book was tricky.
“I wanted to center on the voices of Black residents of Charleston, explain the science, sketch the financial and governance issues and provide historical context. Bringing all of that together in a coherent package was both an honor and a challenge.”
When asked if she felt Charleston’s politicians have failed their constituents, Crawford said the answer isn’t so obvious.
“[Politicians are] stuck in a very difficult situation. They need increased development to keep city services going, because they are required by state law to depend only on property taxes. They don’t want to scare away the tourists on which both the city and the state depend.
“No one is thinking about strategic relocation; the state doesn’t allow the subject to be part of a city’s planning efforts. There’s zero federal or state leadership aimed at planning ahead for, say, 2070. The only big federal money will come after a disaster, which is bananas. And the federal government actively encourages people to live in floodplains by selling them flood insurance, which is worse than bananas.”
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