class
Building Resilient Organizations
“Building Resilient Organizations” examines the crises facing progressive movements and social justice groups, from toxic workplace cultures to deep divisions over values and strategy. Maurice Mitchell argues that these tensions are shaped by outside forces such as market-driven politics that prioritize profit over people, the rise of authoritarian governments that restrict freedoms, and persistent systemic inequities. They are also fueled by internal patterns like insisting on only the most extreme positions and rejecting leadership by treating all leaders as untrustworthy. The article offers a framework for building organizations that work well by focusing on clear roles and decision-making, a shared vision and purpose, practical plans, and a respectful culture. To learn more, click here.
Revisiting Poverty and Injustice in Rural Black Communities
Sixty years after Michael Harrington published The Other America in 1962—exposing pockets of extreme poverty in the United States—many conditions persist, or have worsened, now compounded by the effects of climate change. This 2024 article examines the stark economic realities facing rural Black communities and the inequitable distribution of resources that has perpetuated generational poverty and left the most vulnerable peoples without sustained support. “Social justice philanthropy spends billions of dollars every year to improve the wellbeing of communities, people, and the planet. While these resources have done a lot of good in a lot of places, they have largely failed to reach the communities in deepest need.” To learn more, click here.
Systemic Racism Explained
This video provides a brief, but effective explanation of how systemic racism impacts people of color in the US today by exploring the history of residential segregation and other forms of segregation limited people of color’s access to wealth. It also discusses how systemic racism is perpetuated by implicit bias. For more watch here.
‘Environmentalist’ Doesn’t Just Mean White and Wealthy
This article discusses a study on perceptions of environmentalists and concern about the environment that challenges stereotypical notions of environmentalists. The study found that while the most common image of an environmentalist is a wealthy, college-educated white person, people of color and people from low-income backgrounds express a higher level of concern for the environment. They go on to discuss a need for the environmental movement to move towards environmental justice and become more inclusive. For more read here.
Considerations for Inclusive Convenings
This document is a resource for groups holding large gatherings who hope to make them more inclusive. It offers numerous considerations to make the event inclusive for the attendees regardless of race, ability, gender, class, stage of career, religious beliefs and more. For more see attached document.
DownloadThe Great Land Robbery
This article offers an in-depth look at the history of dispossession of land of black farmers in the American South. It focuses on the story of one multi-generational family of black farmers to illustrate how racist policy and actions forced hundreds of thousands of black farmers off of their land during the 20th century. The author also addresses how policies leading to a lack of land ownership contributes to the significant wealth gap between white and and black families in America. For more read here.
Decolonizing Environmental Education
This is a Zine put together that can be used as a tool to begin the work of changing and decolonizing the field of environmental education. The Zine shares personal experiences of POC and Indigenous environmental educators and activists, provides links to numerous articles and resources and offers tools on how to call for systemic environmental justice. For more read here.
Environmentalism’s Racist History
This article in the New Yorker discusses the how racist ideologies are intertwined with the creation of the conservation movement in the early 20th century. It also provides historical links to the present that show how the environmental movement has not focused on the needs of communities of color. For more read here.
‘Bees, not refugees’: the environmentalist roots of anti-immigrant bigotry
This article discusses a long history of “eco-xenophobia” in America by drawing connections between the motivations behind the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, anti-immigration sentiments in the Sierra Club and early conservationists. For more read here.
Why Companies Should Add Class to Their Diversity Discussions
This article makes the case for why class diversity should be a point of emphasis within efforts to make workplaces more diverse. The authors provide examples of how people from working class backgrounds face barriers in entering white-collar workplaces due to referral-based hiring practices, prioritizing “culture fit” in hiring and different relationships to work and family. For more read here.
Transforming a Movement: How foundations can support effective Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion capacity building efforts in environmental organizations
This report, compiled by the consulting group J.E.D.I. Heart, explores how funders and organizations can contribute to and more effectively engage in DEI efforts within the environmental movement. The report draws on research conducted with funders, DEI point people and staff of color at environmental organizations to analyze the limitations of ongoing DEI work and provide concrete suggestions for how to improve. Their findings suggest that environmental organizations view the act of beginning DEI efforts as a success in itself, rather than critically exploring the effectiveness of the work. For more read here.
On a Plate
This is a comic that illustrates the differences between growing up in a higher-income family and a lower-income family. It depicts well how socio-economic background can shape life opportunities and exposes the flaws in arguments about pulling oneself up by their bootstraps. For more read here.