Environmental justice
Color of pollution
Pollution, poverty, and people
Environmental racism
These are just a few of Google’s suggestions in response to an “environment and people of color” search. But that wasn’t my first query. I initially searched for environmental magazines. The typical top ten high circulation publications filled my screen. Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife, Sierra, Missouri Conservationist and Mother Earth were the top five on the list. Although additional queries were made for key phrases such as outdoor, camping or recreation the results were pretty much the same. The magazines primarily focused on the role of particular folk as the guardians of wildlife and nature. Other folk, such as myself an African American, could only give voice to issues of injustice, inequality and degradation. Where is there space for me to talk about the hummingbirds that flutter less than two inches from my face while having morning tea and soaking up the sun’s rays? Or the deer that nestle under my fruit trees each evening? Or the catfish I catch in the Lake and Delta for food rather than sport? Regardless of my limited inclusion, I suspect nature is far more resilient that many folk acknowledge.
For instance, due to California’s drought, fires and floods my quality of life was directly affected as a result of the decimation of several of the state’s crops. Yesterday however, after a two-year hiatus, I happily resumed my summer tradition of gathering blackberries at the state park. Is human intervention necessary to address the effects of climate change, particularly in our current political climate? Most definitely! However to do so, a diversity of voices are also needed to reflect the diversity of relationships folks have with nature and the environment. Does Black erase green? Black, represented as poor and disconnected from nature, is a popular trope. Yet people of color are far most complex than depicted in thirty-second sound bites. The sooner we get more folks to acknowledge this reality, the sooner we can focus on collaboratively building bridges of inclusion rather than walls of exclusion.
Sharon Y. Fuller 