Roger Griffith and Gnisha Bevan’s joint essay ‘The Demand For Racial Equality And Environmental Justice: Learning from Bristol’s Black and Green Programme’ appears in the book Diversity and Inclusion in Environmentalism, edited by Karen Bell. The book, published June 2021, discusses how to develop green transitions which benefit, include and respect marginalised social groups.
The abstract for Roger and Gnisha’s joint essay reads:
‘Studies have shown that Western environmental movements have a ‘diversity problem’. However, a purely Western-centric focus ignores the environmental efforts of millions of people of colour globally. Obscuring these positive activities contributes to structural societal racism, global inequality and weakened environmentalism. This injustice of recognition has roots in histories of enslavement, imperialism and colonialism, with legacies that continue today. In the United Kingdom, communities of colour are excluded from ‘mainstream’ environmental movements yet are significant contributors to environmentalism. These movements claim to be ‘open to everyone’ but many remain baffled by the lack of participation of people of colour.
In Bristol, the Black and Green Programme initiated by Ujima Radio, aimed to tackle these barriers. It worked in partnership with communities of colour in low-income areas to recognise leadership and create new leaders. Achievements ranged from creating green citizen journalists to the Green and Black Ambassadors programme which paid, trained and supported a new generation of leaders to drive forward change. This chapter draws insights from this important work and provides recommendations for future policy and good practice.’The book is available to read online at Taylor & Francis or to purchase through Routledge here.