RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK : Do you know HOW the ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT started?

 

Dear friend, February calls us to remember the legacy and sacrifice of the freedom fighters who paved the way — the people who gave us the language, the frameworks, and the courage that shape our campaigns today. Their bold demands for transparency. For human rights to be recognized and protected. For systems to be accountable to the people they impact. The truth is simple: we cannot have environmental justice without racial equity. Protecting the most vulnerable among us is not a side issue — it is rooted in the values of community care and collective liberation. Read our Substack for more Environmental justice has always been central to our work. And this Black History Month, I’m reflecting on the very beginning of the environmental justice movement — the residents of rural Warren County, North Carolina, who fought against a toxic landfill being placed in their neighborhood. Their courage sparked a movement. Their resistance reshaped how we understand environmental harm — not as isolated pollution, but as a pattern of injustice that targets Black communities, Indigenous communities, and other frontline neighborhoods first and worst. Read our latest Substack to learn more about the history of the environmental justice movement — and why that history continues to shape the fights we’re in today. In solidarity, Kamari Sherard Digital Engagement Specialist Rainforest Action Network

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