By Esme Hyatt
The job of intersectional environmentalists is an important one. Many movements in the past have intentionally or unintentionally excluded minority groups, such as in the case of the Women’s Suffrage movement (Waters-Page, n.d.). Intersectional environmentalists advocate for minority communities to have a voice in the environmentalist movement. These activists prioritize inclusivity and social justice when approaching environmental issues (Intersectional Environmentalist, n.d.).
Kristy Drutman, founder of Brown Green Girl, is an intersectional environmentalist. She started advocating through a lens of social justice early on, even before the term was coined in 2020 by Leah Thomas (Intersectional Environmentalist, n.d.). “I was posting a lot of, I guess you could say, intersectional content before that became a term, because I started my page in 2017,” Drutman said.
Drutman spoke about the many types of mediums she advocates through, ranging from her early podcasting days to her increasingly influential Instagram presence. Drutman posts about intersectionality and important issues that are often not highlighted in the media.
The more she became involved in the environmental movement, the more Drutman came to recognize the disparities in minority representation. “I also realized that there were a lot of gaps when it came to equitable access and representation of, especially, black, indigenous, and people of color in the environmental space,” said Drutman.
This lack of representation is especially problematic when minority communities are the most affected the very issues environmentalists seek to resolve. For example, communities of color are more likely to live in areas where large companies have taken advantage of the low real estate prices and tarnished the environment. A recent report found that over a span of 20 years, more than half of those located within 1.86 miles of toxic waste facilities are people of color (Environmental Justice, n.d.).
Drutman elaborated on the gap between the communities being affected and how the narrative of environmentalism is often not told by such communities. “Even though these issues impact a lot of our communities, they are not necessarily the ones that are having their stories told or the ones guiding those stories,” said Drutman.
The narrative of environmentalism tends to be directed by those in powerful positions and experts on the topic. In general in the United States (US), those in power are most often white men. According to the New York Times, out of 900 people who hold powerful positions, 80 percent are white, and 20 percent are people of color (Lu et al., 2020).
A similar concept can be applied to environmental leaders which Drutman also addressed. “There are notions of just, I guess you could say what it is: ‘Who are the environmental leaders?’ And if you look at a lot of these websites or these talks it was all white men, you didn’t see many people of color being highlighted in those positions,” said Drutman.
Oftentimes when those in power only represent one group it leads to limited perspectives on issues. This makes providing solutions and actions to issues complicated, as without a variety of perspectives, resolutions may not be accessible, feasible, or create change. “Even when it came to activism, there was a lot of “Direct action is the only way,” and it’s like: getting arrested is the only way? That’s not necessarily an accessible narrative to people of color, especially Black folks” Drutman said. As a result of the history of police brutality, oftentimes direct action is not a safe choice of activism for black folks. 32 percent of the US population is African American or Hispanic, however, African Americans and Hispanics make up 56 percent of the incarcerated population (Criminal Justice, n.d.). Due to these higher rates of incarceration among people of color getting arrested is not always an option. However, that means that if the world listens to environmental leaders who are mainly white men, and what they deem activism, then it is not accessible for many.
This is why the work of intersectional environmentalists is vital for our movement to be successful. Intersectional environmentalists include minority communities in the movement, who have insight into solutions since they are the ones most impacted. By listening to these communities, activists can create real, feasible change in areas that are most affected by environmental issues. Without intersectional environmentalists, the environmental movement is not only exclusionary but does not achieve change.
References
Brown green girl. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.browngirlgreen.com/who-am-i
Criminal justice fact sheet. (n.d.). NAACP. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://naacp.org/resources/criminal-justice-fact-sheet
Environmental justice. (n.d.). NCCJ. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.nccj.org/environmental-justice
Intersectional environmentalist. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.intersectionalenvironmentalist.com/about
Lu, D., Juang, J., Seshagiri, A., Park, H., & Griggs, T. (2020, September 9). Faces of power: 80% are white, even as U.S. becomes more diverse. The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/09/us/powerful-people-race-us.html
Waters-Page, J. (n.d.). Injustice in intersectionality: Women’s suffrage movement. Civil and Human Rights. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/injustice-in-intersectionality-womens-suffrage-movement/
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