Who Is an Environmentalist?: Changing the Face of Environmentalism
- Zamani Ra
- Sep 9
- 1 min read
An article written by Courtnie Phillip on Greenling.org website
"If you had asked me 10 or even five years ago to characterize an environmentalist, I would have never described someone who looks like me–a Black girl from Brooklyn, NY. The first words to come to mind would have been “tree-hugger,” “vegan,” “conservationist,” “zero-waste,” but most importantly “White.” In my mind, environmentalism was intrinsically tied to whiteness and privilege. It didn’t matter that I literally hugged and named trees as a child, or that I took steps to reduce my carbon footprint, or that I actually cared about protecting our natural environment; I just knew that my identity as a Black woman did not align with this movement..."

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