Earth Day 2022

This April as we celebrate Earth Month, we wanted to take a moment to uplift People of Color, women and LGBTTQ+ folks who are organizing and leading the way for environmental justice. While it is popularly recognized that Earth Day was founded in 1970, we recognize that people have been working to address environmental issues long before that and that the historical record of environmental activism has been whitewashed. 

As Intersectional Environmentalist so eloquently states, “When communities of color, who are impacted the most by environmental injustices and are are also leading the way in creating solutions, are included in environmental decision-making, movements, and educational systems, environmentalism will be brighter, more equitable, and more revolutionary for all.”

Here are a few amazing organizations led by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks to check out:

• Generation Green is a Black-led movement that works for environmental liberation within the Black diaspora that was founded in HBCUs. It is a Black space, but they also have resources for allies here. 

• Veggie Mijas is a plant-based space centering women & trans/gnc folks of color, focused on building community among those who have experienced food insecurity or food apartheid. The Washington, DC chapter is a “Conscious collection of femme herbavores who advocate for food and environmental justice through our own unique experiences and collective genius. Striving to be a community of cultural connection.”

• Plantita Power “focuses on combining food justice, cultural healing, and building sustainable green spaces for the QTBIPOC community. They work with various DC local organizations and mutual aid groups to support the efforts of feeding BIPOC folks in the DMV.”

• Check out this list of documentaries about Indigenous leadership in environmental justice, and follow these six Indigenous-led environmental organizations.

• Check out more on our blog post and feel free to reply with additional environmental justice organizations! 

Some additional resources and organizations to check out:

• People of Global Majority in the Outdoors, Nature, and the Environment

• Latino Outdoors

• Sogorea Te’ Land Trust

• Women of Color Collective

• Intersectional Environmentalist  

  • 10 Women Who Shaped the Environmental Movement by Intersectional Environmentalist 

• Acres of Ancestry

• Seeding Sovereignty 

• Black Girls with Gardens

• Indigenous Efforts Across Turtle Island

• Environmental Professionals of Color

This is only the very tip of the iceberg! Feel free to share additional environmental justice organizations to follow that are led by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks!