Anti-Blackness in Green Spaces
In America, any ethnic group that has been accepted as white has done so at the expense of black bodies. Institutional and systemic anti-black racism can be found in every institution of American society. The environmental space is not immune to systemic racism. Anti-blackness deals with the personal, cultural, social, legal, and structural attacks on people called black. A collaborative of black environmental justice thought leaders have come together to provide anti-black and anti-oppression training. Through this seven-week training we will build awareness of anti-black racism while providing tools to combat it. This training is meant for everyone in the department with sections for individual group discussion (ex. Black, Brown, Indigenous, Men, Women, etc.). In this training we specifically speak to the executive leadership, board members, and senior management.
Theory of Change
Developing a black-led training team to put together a curriculum and training for larger environmental group boards and staff will usher the transformational change needed to create a more just society.
Proposal
We are developing a team of leading black voices in the environmental movement to provide an anti-blackness training module and curriculum that can be replicated and distributed throughout the environmental industry. This training will target the board of directors and staff. In these modules our black climate leaders will discuss how they've experienced racism in the climate space and provide tools to correct anti-black culture in the work space. This training and curriculum will challenge traditional infrastructures that have systematically devalued black minds and bodies. Last, this training will hold organizations accountable by providing a guide and metrics.