Giving Credit Where It's Due
by Tania Roa
With up-cycling, thrifting, and other sustainable practices becoming popular, it seems that the environmental movement has entered mainstream society, but this movement isn’t new. Despite many communities being environmentally conscious for decades, they have yet to receive the recognition they deserve in mainstream media.
Black Communities
For Black communities, participating in activism is a direct response to their everyday experience. The world Black people live in was formed without consideration for their well-being. They are more likely to live in areas with higher pollution rates, leading to fatal health issues including lead poisoning. For these communities, advocating for institutional sustainable practices is not merely a hobby but a matter of life or death.
Black environmentalists have shaped the sustainability movement into what it is today. Their work, from supporting minority-owned farms to standing up to fossil fuel companies, cannot be undermined. Without recognizing the interconnections between racial justice and environmental issues, we create a narrow-minded, superficial movement that lacks the tools needed to develop long-lasting, meaningful solutions.
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Indigenous Communities
Indigenous Peoples view other species as relatives, seeds as ancestors, and the land as sacred. There is a sense of profound respect for Earth’s elements and all living beings, and this ideology allows them to live in a way that ensures the well-being of future generations.
Many Indigenous groups have learned how to manage natural resources by paying attention to nature’s cycles. For example, where cultural burning takes place, biodiversity and ecosystem resiliency increase. Indigenous wisdom provides a roadmap for restoring land and our connection to Mother Nature, which we will need in order to reverse the damage we have caused. To find a balance between human needs and the planet’s limits, we can thank Indigenous Peoples for showing us the way.
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AAPI Communities
Despite Asian Americans expressing high interest in environmental issues, this community tends to be left out of the conversation and often forgotten altogether. Their sustainable traditions get ‘dismissed as immigrant culture,’ and they go unaccounted for under a white environmentalist lens. When movements lack diversity and inclusivity, they continue to harm various communities and, as a result, lead to little, if any, progress.
Asian Americans usually get disregarded in discussions about environmental injustices, but the limited amount of research that does include them demonstrates they are at high risk for living in polluted areas. Ignoring the impacts of systems of oppression on Asian Americans negatively affects everyone. We all miss out on valuable insights if we continue to allow them to get overlooked. No matter where someone is born, every individual brings something unique to the environmental movement.
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Latinx Communites
Latin American immigrants are well aware that human dignity requires a healthy environment. When the only available jobs expose workers to toxic chemicals, either from factories or from pesticide-driven agricultural methods, environmental injustices are apparent, and they quickly take a toll on mental, physical, and emotional health. Like Black environmentalists, many Latinx activists join the sustainability movement to demand clean water, air, and access to the outdoors.
Although many Latinx people are outspoken environmental advocates, stereotypes painting them as ‘disinterested’ linger. Far from being unconcerned, Latinx activists face barriers that white non-Latinx do not face, and this leads to their lack of representation in the mainstream environmental movement. To ensure adequate representation, events should be held in multiple languages or a translator should be present. And most importantly, we all need to advocate for better working conditions for immigrants. We can’t expect them to participate in civil society when the jobs offered to them demand long hours, have minimal breaks, and provide severely low wages. When we protect each other, we protect our planet.
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On a practical level, sustainability is a means of survival. It’s a philosophy that encourages you to take advantage of every resource you have. On a spiritual level, sustainability is how humans connect to the Earth. This mindset inspires us to appreciate everything that sustains us- rivers, trees, oceans, animals. Sustainability is about giving back to the very things that keep us alive.
Despite recent interest in environmentalism and sustainability, BIPOC communities have not received long-overdue credit for current ‘trends’ and ideals. It's time we recognize the cultural roots of practices characteristic of the environmental movement. Today's mainstream environmental movement will only grow stronger when we do. To fully confront the climate crisis, we need to build and maintain a strong movement. The only way to do that is through one inclusive, collective effort.