Our staff recommends books and articles that explore racial justice and equity, diversity, and inclusion in the environmental movement and outdoor recreation.
Environmental Justice Books by Black Authors:
- Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage by Dianne D. Glave. This book “traces the history of African Americans’ relationship with the environment emphasizing the unique preservation-conservation aspect of Black environmentalism.”
- The Rise of the Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection by Dorceta Taylor. This book “[e]xplains how race, class, and gender influenced every aspect of the U.S. conservation movement and how the movement benefitted from contributions of the poor working class, people of color, women, and Native Americans despite early efforts by white urban elites being tied up with slavery and the appropriation of Native lands.”
- Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors by Carolyn Finney. “Finney argues that the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, and racial violence have shaped cultrual understandings of the “great outdoors” and determined who should and can have access to natural spaces.”
- Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility by Dorceta Taylor. Taylor “[e]xamines the connections among residential segregation, zoning, and exposure to environmental hazards.”
EDI in the Environmental Movement:
- A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment by The Native Governance Center
- Backpacking in America as a Person of Color: Hikers Share their Experience by Clay Bonnyman Evans (The Trek)
- Five Ways to Make the Outdoors More Inclusive (The Atlantic)
- Why Black People Should Take Up Space in the Outdoors by Joshua Walker (Melanin Base Camp)
- The Outdoor Industry’s Inclusion Problem by Marinel De Jesus (Adventure Journal)
- Stop Making Movies About White Guys Doing Cool Shit by Anaheed Saatchi (Melanin Base Camp)
- Going it Alone by Rahawa Haile (Outside Magazine)
Resources:
Check out a selection of articles, videos, and podcasts from Riverkeeper staff and board EDI enrichment discussions.
- Not All White People Were Created Equal: White Privilege in America
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
- Changing the Narrative About Native Americans
- 21 things you can do to be more respectful of Native American cultures
- Project Implicit
- Portland’s gentrification has its roots in racism
- Seeing White Podcast
- Who are the missing Native woman and how do we find them?
- Recognizing Microaggressions and the Messages They Send
- What are Personal Pronouns and Why Do The Matter?
- Prioritizing Diversity and Inclusion in Times of Crisis
Read Environmentalists for Black Lives Matter