A multi-year collaboration to preserve and promote the history of the US environmental justice movement.

Today, there is a strong cohort of people of color, Indigenous, and working-class activists who have spent the last 30-40 years working to protect people and the planet in ways that center social justice. These activists have a lifetime of stories and strategies to share. Many possess personal archives that document successful campaign strategies to block or shut down hazardous infrastructure development with tactics more militant than those currently favored by many of their successors. These vital histories need to be understood to best meet contemporary challenges. Yet many of the records that document this history are going unpreserved by museums and libraries, which predominantly collect materials from socially privileged groups. The unhealthy environments that many of these activists live in means that early death is tragically common, adding extra urgency to preserving their knowledge.

If we don’t preserve the history of the environmental justice movement, the still-dominant white narrative of middle and upper-class environmentalism will continue. Such narratives constrain the ability of contemporary activists to do the important work that remains.

I’m working with people around the country to help preserve the history of the US environmental justice movement in order to keep the hard-won lessons of its activists available to current and future generations. We held national convenings in January of 2023 and 2024 in order to create space to share experiences and ideas across organizational and regional silos. This brought together activists, NGO staff, academics, archivists and curators from 16 states and the District of Virginia. One of the things we did was compile a list of relevant resources, which is housed below until we build a separate project website.

This work is ongoing, get in touch if you are interested in learning more!