Raquel Douglas (she/her) is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Brown University. Her research focuses on environmental sociology, cultural studies, and Africana studies.

Drawing on multiple methods, her dissertation explores how Black farmers understand the cultural, political, and spiritual significance of farming. “Black Soil and Soul” uplifts the worldviews, values, and practices that inform how North Carolinian Black farmers combat food apartheid and the ongoing decline of Black farmland. Specifically, she calls attention to the ways that religion, spirituality, and the need for healing continue to shape the way that Black farmers relate to their land and their communities. This research has been supported by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Wilson Library, Swearer Center for Public Service, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, and the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society.

Raquel is passionate about reconnecting communities who have been intentionally separated from the land with an intimate connection to the Earth. A budding farmer in her own right, Raquel has spent the last three years collectively growing culturally relevant veggies and medicinal herbs on Black owned-farms in Rhode Island and North Carolina. In these roles, she grew food for communities living under food apartheid and connected dozens of BIPOC folks with limited exposure to farming to the land through workshops, events, and relationship-building. She recently relocated to Durham to manage a new community garden, collaboratively build a community land trust, and teach land-based skills.

She holds a BA in Economics and Africana Studies from Williams College and MA in Sociology from Brown University.