Reduce, reuse, and recycle is not a new concept: Many Black Americans have been doing this out of necessity for years. Among necessitys tutorials is how to use limited resources creatively and imaginatively, and to survive on simplicity--a lesson on living green for those who have no other choice. Author Karla J. Cooper explores the survival strategies of Black Americans through her own familys history in rural southern Missouri. Cooper serves as chaplain and adjunct faculty member of Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, and is pastor of Quinn Chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska. She has a B.A. from Southeast Missouri State, a Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary, and is present pursuing a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.