Comments

1. PureGracefulTree wrote:

   I was wondering if any readers out there can comment on what anti-racist environmentalism looks like. I’m familiar with some of the criticism of traditional environmental efforts (they assume a lot of economic privilege and freedom of lifestyle, etc.) and I’d like to do better, but I’m not sure how.

   Posted 11 Sep 2008 at 5:55 pm ¶

2. Danielle wrote:

   This is unrelated to the previous comment.

   A while back people were mentioning anti-racist books for children and I just wanted to share three books that my 15 month old son LOVES:

   Whose Knees are These? (Board book)
   by Jabari Asim (Author), LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

   Whose Toes are Those? also by Jabari Asim and LeUyen Pham

   and Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell (also available as a board book, but beautiful in the full-sized picture book format)

   Danielle in Philadelphia

   Posted 11 Sep 2008 at 9:16 pm ¶

3. CJsDaddy wrote:

   I saw on a message board that she and her son were going to dress up as a Rastafarians for Halloween.

   Am I confused or oversensitive – or does that seem awful and entirely disrespectful?

   But it got me thinking – what kinds of things are off limits? Would the typical or traditional dress of another culture or faith be automatically wrong?

   Posted 11 Sep 2008 at 9:49 pm ¶

4. Lyonside wrote:

   >Whose Toes are Those? also by Jabari Asim and LeUyen Pham

   We have this one, and I always forget to mention it! How many times are brown toes (or knees) celebrated in kids books? My daughter loves this too – I need to pick up the “Knees” ones.

   Posted 12 Sep 2008 at 8:20 am ¶

5. Lyonside wrote:

   >what anti-racist environmentalism looks like. I’m familiar with some of the criticism of traditional environmental efforts (they assume a lot of economic privilege and freedom of lifestyle, etc.)

   Ugh. I can’t bring myself to read mags like RealSimple for exactly that reason (replace your $3 T-shirt for a $20 organic shirt! cheap!) Much as I drool over some of the ideas, I just can’t afford it. Same with eating free-range – would like to, can’t afford to. And I’m the regular old middle class.

   Anti-racist environmentalism, IMO, works WITH the people and their lifestyles, and finds the most affordable and sustainable ways to help them (and usually also the environment).

   That could include:

   1. Bringing grocery stores and farmers markets to inner-city neighborhoods (fresh produce, new buildings tend to be more efficient, people’s health increases with fresh food, less packaging and processing that is common to fast food and quick-e-marts, less gas used for people to commute to big grocery markets). Same idea works in rural communities where Big Ag and the economy has squeezed out small family farms and subsistence farming.

   2. Community gardens and working with municipalities to make brownspaces into greenspaces (my dream job). – reduces runoff, provides urban oases for wildlife and breaks up heat islands, provides recreation and educational opportunities, as well as fresh produce.

   3. On a local level, de-stigmatizing thrift stores, yard sales, rummage sales, and other community-organized reuse sales. I grew up on all of these, and still frequent them as much as possible. But I know other people who wouldn’t be caught dead shopping at a rummage sale. Also, publicizing cheap, and often ecologically sound, solutions like those in the Tightwad Gazette.

   4. Contributing to organizations that help people on the ground in the US and globallyin sustaintable ways – I’m thinking groups like Heifer International, etc. I’d love to see Haiti work with international groups to reforest their hillsides, to prevent further devastation from the inevitable storms. But unless you give people the means to survive without cutting down trees for farmland and shelter, it’s not going to work.

   Posted 12 Sep 2008 at 8:45 am ¶

6. Wanderinglady wrote:

   @ PureGracefulTree,

   I have a couple of ideas, as a start. I think anti-racist environmentalism considers the impact of certain actions not only on the environment, but also on the people in that environment. Also, an anti-racist environmentalist doesn’t “dictate from above”, rather, s/he is involved on a grassroots level.

   I have a friend who has been working on issues concerning “environmental racism” for a number of years. Just from observing his work, it seems that more anti-racist environmentalists are needed. It’s tough, dealing with apathy (on both sides), economic issues (particularly “jobs vs environment”) as well as battling stereotypical thinking. Good luck!

   Posted 12 Sep 2008 at 10:43 am ¶

7. PureGracefulTree wrote:

   Thanks for the responses, Lyonside and Wanderinglady. I especially appreciate the specific suggestions of community gardens and de-stigmatizing secondhand merchandise. The point about “dictating from above” is well-taken, too; I think that mentality comes from living an unexamined life of privilege, which is of course a major part of what anti-racism work seeks to combat.

   Posted 12 Sep 2008 at 2:14 pm ¶

8. Dayna wrote:

   Anti-racist environmentalism?!

   I’ve been reading this site for months now and I got so excited that it’s finally time for me to stop lurking and comment.

   I am so happy to hear that anti-racist environmentalism is an active movement. I get so embarrassed by, and so frustrated with, the “Green Movement” and the people with whom my fiance goes to grad school who often sound so self-righteous when pontificating about “Going Green,” big corporations, boycotting Wal-Mart, etc…. I have such a hard time supporting a movement that, in my opinion, only serves to divide, marginalize and oppress people further who do not fall into a certain demographic. (Although I certainly see the good in being as conscious of, and as respectful of, the environment as individual circumstances allow.)

   I would love to get involved in an environmentalist movement that eschews that and reaches out across the board to people of varied races, cultural backgrounds and financial backgrounds. That makes so much more sense to me than patting myself on the back because I spent four bucks on an organic loaf of bread at the Farmer’s Market.

   Best wishes, and thanks for letting me read. Talking about race is hard. I recognize that as a white woman I am coming from an automatic position of privilege, so I feel a little embarrassed about that and scared sometimes trying to navigate my way in a place where I do not wish to cause offense to anyone. I hope to all get to know you better and you all can teach me how to do this as I flounder my way through.

   Posted 13 Sep 2008 at 3:37 pm ¶

9. Liza wrote:

   Going along with the anti-racist environmentalism, the latest site I discovered is Freecycle. I love it. I used things like Craigslist alot when it first came out, but Freecycle operates under the idea that everything you give and receive must be free. For those who aren’t big on actually going to second hand shops (although, PLEASE go to them! they are a great way to support your local community!!), this is the online version of it. Lots of great things on there that allow us to keep merchandise in the hands of people who need it and not in our garbage dumps.

   As a very middle class’er, I absolutely can’t afford most of the “green suggestions” that are out there, so I make changes where I can. Only bringing my own bags to both the grocery store AND to places like the pharmacy, etc. Or, simply not accepting the plastic bag they are giving me.

   In our house, lights are always turned off when we leave a room, sweaters and turtlenecks are worn ALL throughout the winter when indoors to reduce our oil (yes, urgh, oil) use, water is always used minimally in showers, teeth brushing, washing dishes, etc. We always use a drying rack for our clothes vs putting them in the actual drier (which has saved a ton of money on our electricity bill but also helps keep our clothes longer!).

   Lots of little things … that actually SAVE money and not spend money.

   Certainly, the issue of environmental racism is much bigger than what I wrote above, but our little actions hopefully impact in a big way later on.

   Posted 14 Sep 2008 at 8:43 am ¶

10. Lyonside wrote:

    > issue of environmental racism is much bigger than what I wrote above, but our little actions hopefully impact in a big way later on.

    I would argue that the small actions are a main way to keep environmentalism local and relevant, especially to underrepresented and underserved minority groups. When people feel empowered to do good things that benefit themselves and their community (something that people in the majority and people in the upper classes generally already feel), they gain the resources and knowledge and experiences to work for broader causes and goals. They also make local connections that can lead to state or even national connections – power brokering is something so often lacking in minority and poor communities, and without knowing who to talk to, how to partner with businesses, and how to get government to work with you, local environmental gains can be obliterated by those with more power and access.

    Posted 15 Sep 2008 at 11:58 am ¶

11. Jennifer wrote:

    In answer to CJ’s Daddy from #3, I would say yes. Either this mother and son are themselves Rastifarian, in which case, it’s not a costume–you don’t dress up as something you are, in general for Haloween. Or these are not people who are Rastifarian in which case, you are appropriating a religious/spiritual practice, one, in this case, linked closely with a particular ethnic/cultural/national group.

    I think for many in the U.S. Rastifarian is synonymous with Jamaican–but a particular type of stereotyped Jamaican–someone who wears dreadlocked hair, smokes marijuana (ganja), and has this kind of laid-back style, all while speaking in Jamaican patois.

    Someone dressing up as a Ratifarian would be similar to someone dressing up as “Mormom” complete with bichycle, book of Mormon, and white collared shirts/black pants/name tag. Except in some ways, depending on the race of the mother-son, they could find themselves doing some version of “black face” or in this case “dreaded hair”–which really seems like crossing the link of good taste.

    Perhaps putting out an analogy no the message board might help this mother re-think her son’s costume and the message she wants to send about taking on a costume that is actually racial masquerade (and it’s also very disrespectful of someone’s religous/spiritual practices–it’s like donning saffron robes and saying you are a Tibetan monk).

    Posted 16 Sep 2008 at 7:57 am ¶

12. Angela Riccio wrote:

    When I was growing up we were pretty poor, and if it weren’t for my mother’s large organic garden I am pretty sure we would have starved. Growing a garden also ensures the labor put into your garden is not done on the backs of immigrants who are paid virtually nothing, exposed to high levels of pesticides, and are exploited at every turn!

    I think we need to get back to an “old fashioned” way of being, without going back to many “old fashioned” values that were racist.

    Even in small yards, particularly urban yards, one can have a garden. There is a book called Square Foot Gardening (don’t know the author off the top of my head) that is wonderful for the multitudes with small spaces. Container gardening can be a good way to go for apartment dwellers to grow some of their own produce and bring fruits and vegetables into their homes.

    Organic does not have to be expensive, although it certainly can be. We have belonged to a few different CSA’s and the price is cheap compared to what one would pay in the store. Averaging about $100 p/month for organic and biodynamically grown fruits and veggies. That price more then amply fed a family of 4.

    I think community gardens are a great idea! If you have any like minded neighbors I would see about starting a garden club and sharing the fruits of that labor with club members. I know we often shared the bounty of our harvest with our neighbors because we simply couldn’t eat, freeze or can all of what we grew.

    Consume less. Go one day a week meat free. Even consider instituting a “lights free” night and eat dinner by candle light and play board games.

    Watch less TV and get outside more.

    Minimize trips out to the store and be more organized about shopping. Make a shopping list and stick to it.

    Ask yourself, “Do I really need _____?” (whatever it is your about to buy and probably don’t need.)

    We use to hang our clothes to dry in the sun, and if it is allowable in your area put up a clothes line and save the energy used to dry clothes when the sun and wind are free.

    Use bar soap – less waste and lasts longer then gels soaps.

    Use cloth napkins instead of paper.

    Bake bread with your kids. It’s really not that difficult and it’s a good family bonding experience. And who doesn’t love the smell of fresh baked bread?

    Eat more meals at home. Pack your lunch and give your kids fresh baked cookies instead of the ones loaded with junk and packaged in plastic.

    Sweep your hard woods instead of vacuuming them (it burns a few extra calories too.)

    Walk to the grocery store if you can and when weather permits.

    And when you can purchase organic products from companies doing good works.

    One can be green without going broke.

    A

    Posted 18 Sep 2008 at 12:22 am ¶

13. Rosa wrote:

    Once you make the link between environmentalism and antiracist work, it’s hard not to see it everywhere.

    1) Parks! Neighborhoods of color are hideously underserved for parks in most cities. That means that activities like playing soccer, volleyball and basketball become criminalized because they’re done in streets and alleys, or in “public” spaces that aren’t really public, like schoolyards and people’s yards.

    2) Asthma. Areas with lots of truck traffic, or garbage burners, or industrial polluition have lots of asthma. These are disproportionately concentrated in places where people of color live. I know there are groups in Brooklyn working on this link, because of the way truck traffic is centered there.

    3. Farms. The Black Farmers Union has been working for years and years to get some sort of justice for the many Black farmers who lost their land to local racist violence and national racist farm policies (such as not loaning ag aid money to Black farmers). Lots of these farms were the small, local truck farms that would now be serving the neighborhood stores that don’t exist in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, and also the economic basis for rural families all over the country.

    4. Green jobs! Just check out a Van Jones speech or read Greenforall’s press releases (Greenforall.org)

    5. Organics are a worker safety issue, and the vast majority of farm workers are people of color. The focus on eating organic for your health is a marketing success, but it makes it look like an elitist issue and it’s not – no one should have to work with cancer-causing or birth-defect-causing chemicals wihout proper safety precautions, and farm workers on commercial farms have to every day.

    Posted 19 Sep 2008 at 10:21 am ¶

14. Rosa wrote:

    Because of the comments on healthy food in city neighborhoods, and African American farmers, I just wanted to add that the founder of the GrowingPower farm in Milwaukee just won a MacArthur genius grant for his work -

    http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/9/23/9112/49427

    Posted 23 Sep 2008 at 5:39 pm ¶

15. janiceenberg wrote:

    I’m new here on the forum, found it by searching google. I look forward to chatting about various topics with all of you.

    Posted 14 Jun 2009 at 11:21 pm ¶

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