Carl Anthony facts for kids

Carl Anthony, born on February 8, 1939, is an important leader. He works for social and environmental fairness. He is an architect, a regional planner (someone who plans how big areas develop), and an author. Carl Anthony started Urban Habitat. This group helped the environmental movement deal with issues of race and social class. He also co-founded Breakthrough Communities. This project helps people from different backgrounds work together. They aim to build strong, lasting communities across the nation. He was also the former President of the Earth Island Institute.

Carl Anthony grew up in Kingsessing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This neighborhood was mostly African American. His parents, Lewis and Mildred Anthony, sent Carl and his older brother Lewie to B.B. Comegys. This was a school where students of all races learned together. Only about a dozen of the 300 students there were African American. Their neighborhood school, Alexander Wilson, was much closer.

Later, the brothers attended Dobbins Vocational School. Carl studied carpentry and cabinet-making there. His teachers were impressed by his drawings. They suggested he switch to architectural drafting. This is where his interest in architecture truly began.

Carl Anthony's Education

Carl Anthony earned a degree in architecture in 1969. He studied at Columbia University. He wanted to understand how buildings are designed. He also learned how to make projects happen. After graduating, he received the William Kinne Fellowship. This grant allowed students to travel and learn more.

Carl Anthony studied and took inspiration from Dogon architecture in Africa.

Anthony traveled to traditional towns and villages in West Africa. He studied how people there used their limited resources. He saw how they shaped their surroundings. He returned from Africa in 1971. He was offered a job as an assistant professor. This was at California-Berkeley College of Natural Resources. He taught there for ten years. After leaving Berkeley, Anthony created the Urban Habitat program.

Urban Habitat: Making a Difference

Carl Anthony led the Earth Island Institute as President from 1991 to 1998. In 1996, he was a special fellow. This was at the Harvard Institute of Politics at Harvard University. He worked with his friend Luke Cole. Together, they started a magazine. It was called the Race, Poverty, and the Environmental Journal. This was the first magazine in the U.S. about environmental justice.

In 1989, Anthony founded the Urban Habitat Program. He worked with David Brower and Karl Linn. Their goal was to combine education with action. They built groups to promote fairness. They focused on environmental and social justice. This work helped low-income communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was the Executive Director until 2000.

California's Bay Area where Carl Anthony dedicated justice and sustainability movements

Anthony led many projects at Urban Habitat. These projects helped people of color become environmental leaders. They challenged environmental problems. They looked at these issues through the lens of race and poverty. Here are some examples of their work:

• Bay Area Justice and Sustainability Project: This project created a plan for fairness and lasting communities. It looked at city planning policies. These policies sometimes caused inner-city areas to be left behind.
• Leadership Institute for Sustainable Communities: This program trained leaders. They learned about land use policies and practices.
• Transportation and Environmental Justice Project: This group pushed for changes. They wanted the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to focus on low-income communities. They also wanted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to help.
• Brownfields Community Leadership Project: This project worked with leaders. They were from low-income communities of color. They made sure that redeveloping old industrial sites (Brownfields) met their needs.
• Hunter's Point Environmental Health Project: This trained residents and leaders. They learned about environmental health and justice. This was in Bayview Hunter's Point.
• Parks and Open Space for All People: This project worked to improve San Francisco's parks. It focused on the needs of low-income communities. It made sure everyone could use the parks.
  

  San Francisco, California where Anthony created open and safe spaces for everyone within the community

Ford Foundation: Supporting Communities

In 2001, Carl Anthony was chosen for a new role. He directed the Sustainable Metropolitan Communities Initiative (SMCI). This program helped disadvantaged communities. The Ford Foundation invested in groups that developed communities. They focused on African American neighborhoods with lower incomes.

Ford Foundation Headquarters in New York where Carl Anthony spent time at.

Anthony worked to reduce poverty in the United States. He also promoted saving natural resources. He created ways for groups to work together. They formed a national network to learn from each other. In 2004, Carl Anthony became the director. This was for the Ford Foundation’s Community Resources Development Union. He left in 2008.

Breakthrough Communities: Moving Forward

In 2008, Anthony co-founded Breakthrough Communities. This project is part of Earth House Center. It is a group that works for fairness in regions. It also supports environmental and climate justice. Carl Anthony is currently its co-director. He also started Six Wins. This project in the Bay Area works to reduce carbon dioxide pollution.

The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race

In 2017, Carl Anthony wrote his memoir. It is called The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race. A memoir is a book about a person's life. This book mixes personal stories with history and ideas about society. Anthony shares his experiences as an architect and planner. He also writes about being an environmentalist and a Black American.

The book connects his life to city history and racial justice. It also talks about healing the environment. He shares stories from his childhood in Philadelphia after World War II. He writes about being a student and civil rights activist in the 1960s. He also describes his travels studying West African architecture. The book covers his pioneering work in environmental justice. He discusses his experiences during the Civil Rights movement. He explains how he became focused on environmental and social justice. His main topics are architecture, farming, Black towns, and city housing. The memoir also shares his research. This includes the African Slave trade, the civil rights movement, damage to the environment, and changes in cities.

Awards and Recognition

Carl Anthony has received many awards for his important work:

• 1995: Honoree, Black History Month, KQED
• 1995: Humanitarian Award, San Francisco Foundation
• 1996: Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• 1997: Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award
• 2014: Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by Congresswoman Barbara Lee
• 2015: Community Engagement Award, UC Davis
• 2015: Trailblazer Award from the Sierra Club