intersectionality

Addressing anti-blackness in communities of color

Vu Le, of Nonprofit AF, addresses the reality of anti-Blackness in non-Black communities of color and why dismantling it is necessary for true racial justice: https://nonprofitaf.com/2019/03/%EF%BB%BFpeople-of-color-we-need-to-address-our-own-anti-blackness-and-how-we-may-be-perpetuating-injustice/?fbclid=IwAR0UUawsE07SXcIBR3x8CdP9ebde111UE38grLxffYyuMaEKaaLJi1KqAMY

Geography of Hope

This video collection by the Center for Humans and Nature  captures moving and thoughtful reflections from the biennial Geography of Hope gathering in Point Reyes Station, California. Meeting themes range from “Ancestors and The Land: Our Past, Present and Future” to “Mapping a New Geography of Hope: Women and the Land.” This series is a collaboration with Black Mountain Circle, US Forest Service, and Point Reyes Books. Watch the videos here.

Wildness: Relations of People and Place

Wildness, an anthology of essays edited by Gavin Van Horn and John Hausdoerffer, explores the different relationships between people and the concept of “wildness.” We like this book because it has stories by people with marginalized identities about their community’s relationships with wildness. These types of stories often aren’t told in the dominant narrative. We also like this book because it distinguishes “wildness” from “wilderness,” which is a political construct. If you’re looking for stories of how people connect to land beyond hiking, biking, and climbing, this is the book for you. Buy the book here.

Principles of Environmental Justice

Drafted in 1991, the Principles of Environmental Justice establish guidance for all what environmental justice truly means. Read the preamble and principles here.

Jemez Principles

Drafted in 1996 during a meeting hosted by Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ), Jemez, New Mexico, Dec. 1996, the Jemez Principles provide 6 guiding principles for democratic organizing. Read more here.

Toolkit on Implementing the President’s Memo on Diversity & Inclusion in Public Lands & Waters

We built this toolkit to help you implement the Presidential Memorandum issued on January 12th, 2017. The memo is available online here. The toolkit is attached.

The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection

This book by Dorceta Taylor reveals the untold stories of the American conservation movement as they relate to race, indigeneity, gender, and other historically marginalized ideas and perspectives. Highly recommended for outdoor education and recreation folks. A must-read for anyone in the conservation or environmental sector (including advocacy, conservation, preservation, land, water, and wildlife management, and environmental education). The book is available for purchase online here.

Stolen People on Stolen Land: Decolonizing while Black

Adele Thomas explores the complexities and nuances of what it means to engage in black liberation in the US, where settler colonialism persists, and how to imagine liberation in the context of multiple traumas. Read here.

Diversity and the Conservation Movement

Chandra Smith, Marcelo Bonta, and Tony DeFalco compiled a comprehensive report on the conservation movement in respect to diversity and inclusion. They provide an overview of the challenges, suggest best practices, and provide case studies for successful efforts. Read here.

Madness & Oppression

The people at the Icarus Project put together this mapping tool for anyone to map out how oppression impacts their health.

In the words of the authors, “Mad Maps are documents that we create for ourselves as reminders of our goals, what is important to us, our personal signs of struggle, and our strategies for self-determined well-being.”

You an access the book for free here or, please consider, paying $8 for this resource here.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice Vocabulary

We have compiled this vocabulary sheet to provide you with some basic definitions of key words and phrases. This vocabulary sheet represents how we at the Avarna Group commonly talk about DEIJ concepts and are a reflection of our learning over the years. However, this is not meant to be a definitive list and we have provided other resources in this vocabulary sheet that provide more definitions, particularly from impacted communities themselves. Moreover, language and ideas move faster than we have capacity to update this sheet. Please use this information as a starting point for understanding rather than a definitive resource.

Privilege 101: A quick and dirty guide

This article from Everyday Feminism outlines the basics of privilege and how it manifests. Read online here.