Global BIPOC Climate Activism vs. Mainstream Environmentalism: A Case Study

Clay, Tianna

Global BIPOC Climate Activism vs. Mainstream Environmentalism: A Case Study

Persistent URL

https://dspace.allegheny.edu/handle/10456/54781

Author(s)

Clay, Tianna

Date Issued

April 14, 2022

Abstract

This project draws attention to the shortcomings of mainstream environmental movements. Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) youth climate activists throughout the globe, especially those coming from majority-world countries, are all too often ignored and discredited for their contributions to environmentalism by mainstream environmental movements, along with media and academic institutions that partake in environmental discourse. The fact that many of these BIPOC climate activists are also experiencing the climate crisis more quickly and severely than those from relatively white, wealthy, and Western countries shows the risk(s) and violence that can be tied to erasure, oppression, and marginalization. As a result of various forms of globalized systemic oppression, white activists (particularly those from wealthier, industrialized countries), receive more attention, credit, and coverage relative to the climate work they are doing compared to other climate activists that are working out of majority-world countries and small-island communities. White voices from wealthy countries are given precedence over those of global BIPOC climate activists, and so are their contributions and concerns relative to climate change discourse and decision making. These omissions result in the deliberate erasure of environmentalists who do not readily conform to mainstream ideas surrounding environmentalism that are rooted in globalized forms of white supremacy. This project employs a case-study approach to examine the implications of these shortcomings, paired with an analysis of the strategies being utilized by climate activists and groups in various parts of the world to combat these oppressive systems today. These case studies can be used by climate activists across the globe who are working to uphold climate justice within their own communities in their battle against oppressive institutions and corporations.

Major

Environmental Science

Honors

Community and Justice Studies, 2022

Environmental Science and Sustainability, 2022

First Reader(s)

Byrnes, Delia