Colorlines: Going Green...Don't drop the justice

From Colorlines, by Robby Rodriguez, Marjorie Childress, Jo Ann Gutierrez Bejar

"The environment, for us, is defined as where we live, work and play." These were the words Jeanne Gauna, co-director of the SouthWest Organizing Project, spoke as she began training neighborhood residents fighting environmental racism in their communities more than two decades ago. It was a simple and profound statement, and its context informs the environmental justice movement’s current dilemma to ensure that poor people and people of color are included in the green movement addressing global climate change.

Environmental justice activists like Jeanne have understood for over three decades the importance of broadening the scope of the environmental movement beyond rivers and birds. We knew then that the key to shifting public consciousness toward living sustainably and in balance with the earth was to include people and the economy as part of the environmental movement’s conversation. Narrowly defining the environment limited our vision for change, preventing the collective "us" from putting forward bold proposals and placing our opponents on the defensive.

In 1991, hundreds of people–concerned residents, organizers, scientists, lawyers and academics–developed 17 Principles of Environmental Justice. These principles provided a vision for social change based on equity, justice and sustainability that went beyond race, ethnicity and political borders. The Principles of EJ connected conservation, sustainability, health, workers rights, corporate responsibility and democracy under one big tent. The concept of environmental justice was a direct descendant of the justice frame of the civil rights movement. Now more than 17 years later, elements of our broad vision are being adopted by mainstream "green" advocates.

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