Earth Stories: Taking a Holistic Approach to Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, Racial Justice, and Gender Justice
Amy Hill
It has become abundantly clear that the people being harmed the most by the climate crisis– communities of color, migrant populations, people living in poverty– are being hit from multiple sides. Communities of color are more likely to live near polluting power plants or industrial centers, meaning we can only truly combat racism if we’re also fighting for cleaner air and water. People living in poverty are less likely to have access to parks or other green spaces, meaning the fight for a healthier environment is also a fight against poverty. The climate crisis is already resulting in climate refugees, meaning we can’t truly help migrant populations without also addressing climate change. It’s also clear that the people causing this harm arm– polluting the air and water, discriminating against communities of color, neglecting schools, restricting access to reproductive healthcare, legislating against transgender rights–are often one and the same. The large companies treating their workers poorly are also the companies polluting the earth and donating to racist, sexist, xenophobic politicians. The movement pushing to restrict abortion access is made up of the same people who don’t want their children to learn about racism or LGBTQ rights in school, join unions at work, or welcome immigrants into their communities.
In the winter of 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, StoryCenter brought together an extraordinary group of women, to explore the interconnections across these issues. Our Earth Stories project understands that an anti-environment politician or company is likely to also be anti-woman, anti-Black, anti-poor, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and more. With a desire to acknowledge and repair heartbreaking legacies of environmental destruction, community displacement, and alienation, one story at a time, we joined with our colleagues Yakuta Poonawalla and Cassidy Villeneuve to offer a unique, six-week online digital storytelling workshop. Our curriculum wove together land acknowledgements, indigenous wisdom, poetry, story sharing, and media production, to support the creation of short videos that point to intimate connections to, and disconnections from, the natural world.
On September 24, 2021, we shared these stories in a virtual premiere, featuring short interviews with the storytellers. If you missed the event, you can view it here, using the passcode “EarthStories2021!.” Together with the storytellers, we’re continuing to highlight the stories via social media. Storyteller and environmental educator Tania Marien produced a podcast episode about the project, featuring an interview with Earth Stories facilitators Amy Hill, Yakuta Poonawalla, and Cassidy Villeneuve. Tune in on Tania’s Talaterra website or on Simplecast. If you’d like to view the entire set of Earth Stories, visit our playlist below or on YouTube.
Special thanks to storyteller Rebecca Kling, for contributing to this case study. If you’re interested in exploring a collaboration with StoryCenter / Earth Stories, please contact Amy Hill at amylenita@storycenter.org.
Understanding the Terms:
Environmental Justice is a movement seeking to stop the pollution that disproportionately impacts communities of color and poor communities, often focusing on a specific region or neighborhood.
Climate Justice is rooted in the understanding that the climate crisis does not impact everyone equally, and that those most impacted are often communities of color and poor communities.