Going Green in Communities of Color

Helping communities of color go green

May 27, 2011 - Representatives of environmental advocacy groups from across the Twin Cities met May 25 at the Local Organizing for the Environment, Energy and the Earth roundtable discussion at the Rondo Community Center to compare notes about their efforts to connect the green economy to developments in communities of color. Shalini Gupta, director IATP Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy and participant of the roundtable, pointed out, “there’s an expression that ‘Anything about us, without us, isn’t for us” in reference to the dominant dialogue regarding sustainability and environmentalism commonly leaving out the voice of people of color. Together, she and the other groups represented at the roundtable hope to foster a more inclusive environmental movement that benefits all of society.

Valerie Martinez, executive director of Indigenous People's Green Jobs Coalition, said that she helps people in her community understand how sustainability and going green can affect their lives. “Sometimes the environmental justice movement can be so large, we as families and individuals don’t know how we fit in,” she explained. Especially within the indigenous communities, where Martinez notes food is often considered a type of medicine and connection to the earth is a fundamental belief, creating mindfulness of harmful chemicals can connect with individuals on a very fundamental level. {continued}