By MarS McCormick, Associate Director
We would be remiss not to acknowledge and honor all the Black American activists and freedom fighters—both those who are still with us and the ancestors—who put forth the energy for the environmental movement we are all rooted in. We plant today not just for ourselves, but with the seven generations in mind, ensuring the youth of tomorrow have the shade and breath they deserve.
As we celebrate 100 years of Black History Month, we are honoring the founder, Dr. Carter G. Woodson; a man who did not give up on advocating for, preserving, and rooting Black History—a history that, to this day, is still being erased. We also honor Hattie Carthan, one of our foremothers in this movement.
Photo from bklynlibrary.org
Back in the ’60s, she founded an organization that is still going strong today to plant trees in Bed-Stuy, New York. She and her Neighborhood Tree Corps—sounds familiar? 😊—were out planting, advocating for, and preserving trees. Here on Turtle Island, Black and Afro/Indigenous people have always stewarded this land. Who we are grateful for!
When we think about doing the “good work” of environmental justice, we must recognize that it goes hand-in-hand with Black History. All the policies, all the structures, all the foundation building—the “all of all”—is Black History. We see this in the very shade we lack and the heat we feel; the history of redlining and disinvestment is written in our landscape, but so is the history of our resistance.
As an environmental justice organization, it’s important that we are aligned with everything that is a part of our ecology—from animals and insects to Black people and all people—since environmental justice is ecological justice. Just as the trees in a forest lean on one another through their roots, our movement thrives on the interdependence of our community. This includes the policies, procedures, structures, and foundations regarding who is being left out and who benefits from the environment… because environmental justice doesn’t exist without the whole of our ecosystem being accounted for.
Division and individualism should have no part in the environmental justice movement work we do every day. So, join SFTT in honoring all the work of all the Black people still living and the ancestors who put a name to the work we do here at SFTT every day. From advocacy and economic democracy to healing our people and land, to frontline greening and youth pathways, we want to shout out some of our collaborators in this work who nourish the same soil we tend here at SFTT: Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), Boston Ujima Project, H.E.R.O. Nurturing Center, GreenRoots, and PowerCorpsBOS.
Together, we stay rooted. ✊🏾🌿
