
The Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk hosts a program featuring Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of ‘Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals.’
Connecting how sea creatures live with the struggles of Black, queer feminists isn’t an obvious correlation — unless you’re Alexis Pauline Gumbs.
The author, a self-described love evangelist who is a scholar, activist and educator, has a gift for finding parallels between seemingly unrelated material through her research. She pushes boundaries in her words that are poetic and powerful.
Gumbs will be the featured speaker of the Elizabeth River Project on Friday for a two-hour talk beginning at 6 p.m. The gathering in the Ryan Resilience Lab at 4610 Colley Ave. in Norfolk will draw inspiration from the life lessons she shares in “Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals.”
Luísa Black Ellis, the nonprofit’s director of resilience and community engagement, drew from Gumbs’ acclaimed book, which she read during the pandemic. She said it read like a devotional. Its use of metaphor to reveal the importance of ecological awareness stayed with her when she was hired by the Elizabeth River Project, which restores the historic urban river through partnerships, community and collaboration.


