race

Diversity Derailed: Limited Demand, Effort and Results in Environmental C-Suite Searches

In its most recent report (October 2016), Green 2.0 researches executive search firms and their approach to supporting the green sector with hiring. The upshot is that search firms—upon whom big green organizations are increasingly relying to fill leadership positions—have neither valued nor integrated diversity into their hiring priorities. Though this study is on search firms, the full report and the checklist contain some useful recruiting and hiring tips for all organizations in the conservation and environmental sector. Read more here.

Implicit Bias in the Presidential Debate

john a. powell describes the relationship between racism and implicit bias. He describes that, “What’s critical in the conversation around policing and implicit bias, as well as all Americans and implicit bias, is to understand that while implicit bias is not the same as racism, the results of implicit bias can still produce deeply racialized outcomes. Even if the conscious mind rejects racism, the unconscious may still hold biases. And these biases are even stronger when we are under stress.” Read more here.

Blackfeet Interpretations of Glacier National Park

Brad Hall, an interpreter at Glacier National Park and member of the Blackfeet Tribe, discusses his complicated relationship to the park, as well as the ways that Blackfeet were and continue to be excluded from the park.

100 race-conscious things you can say to your child to advance racial justice

The folks over at Raising Race Conscious Children put together a list of 100 examples of how to engage children in conversation around racial justice (and some ideas around sex and gender). A great resource for parents as well as educators. Read more here.

Toward a Wider View of “Nature Writing”

Catherine Buni gives an overview of how environmental literature has historically been dominated by whiteness, and then advocates for a broader understanding of environmental literature by introducing the voices of several authors and thinkers of color from the past and present. 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.

Verde Paper: Latino Perspectives on Conservation Leadership

After 18 months of research, La Tierra Madre reports out on some common themes in the Latino conservation community and provides insights on successful Latino engagement in conservation, either within Latino communities or between mainstream conservation efforts and Latino communities. Access here.

A Path to Environmentalism

Black Girl Dangerous contributor, Jasmine Kumalah, succinctly and precisely discusses her own path to environmentalism, which includes understanding the complexity of human relationships to the environment and social hierarchies. Read here.

White Fragility

Robin DiAngelo discusses the concept white fragility, which refers to, “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.” DiAngelo’s work is often cited when explaining white reactions to issues surrounding race.

Concise history of black-white relations in the US

A short cartoon strip that describes the relationship between black-white relations in the US and how oppression is normalized. View here.

‘We need co-conspirators, not allies’: how white Americans can fight racism

In the wake of racial violence in 2015, activists call for white co-conspirators, not allies. Allyship implies a mutually beneficial benefit and support one another; however, one protestor argues that the black community is not obligated to support the white community. Instead, they urge both black and white communities to work towards a common goal: racial justice. Read here.