Green Movement Still Predominantly White, Study Finds
nigel allen
Green Movement Still Predominantly White Study Finds; Open Letter
to Environmental Groups Cites Findings, Calls for Greater Diversity
To: National Desk, Environment Writer
Contact: John R. Cook Jr., or Keven Doyle and Lori Colombo
(authors), 617-426-4375, all of the Environmental
Careers Organization
BOSTON, April 22 -- A study by the Environmental
Careers Organization (ECO) has found that the nation's
environmental organizations continue to be predominantly white,
with few people of color on their staffs and directing boards, and
with inadequate attention to the environmental concerns affecting
people of color.
An open letter to environmental groups today summarized the
findings and urged the groups to diversify their staffs, boards
and agendas.
The report, titled "Beyond the Green: Redefining and
Diversifying the Environmental Movement," is the result of a year
long study by ECO which surveyed over 140 people in nonprofit
groups nationwide to obtain its findings.
Although past research has documented the fact that people of
color are more likely to suffer polluted environments than their
white neighbors, the new study found that "environmental justice"
issues are not priority concerns for predominantly white
environmental groups, at a time when disproportionate impact of
pollution on communities of color remains rampant.
"The need for a united movement for environmental quality and
social justice is creating tensions which threaten the advancement
of both goals," said ECO's president John Cook. "Established
environmental and civil rights groups are both missing the boat.
Local people, especially people of color, want to take control of
their own environmental futures. The so-called leaders need to
catch up with their constituencies."
The study found that fully one-third of "traditional"
environmental organizations have no people of color on their
staffs. This information comes three years after the circulation
of a letter by civil rights and environmental justice leaders
accusing environmental groups of racism in their hiring practices,
board selection, and relationships (or lack thereof) with
communities of color. Similarly, the report chides large civil
rights groups for not fully incorporating environmental concerns of
minorities into their civil rights agendas.
An open letter to 800 environmental leaders was signed by John
R. Cook Jr., president of ECO; John Adams, executive director of
the Natural Resources Defense Council; Charles Lee of the United
Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice and Deeohn Ferris of
the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The letter urged the groups to act quickly to close the gap
between grassroots social justice groups and traditional
environmentalists, and called on them to seek collaborative
efforts, using the book's recommendations as a starting point.
The letter to environmental groups follows an open letter to
President Clinton sent earlier this month by representatives of
several environmental justice organizations urging the
administration to move swiftly in addressing pollution concerns in
communities of color.
The 195-page report says that environmental groups have failed
to work effectively with the vibrant "social and environmental
justice" grassroots movement, led by African Americans, Latinos,
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. This
movement, virtually unknown outside of communities of color a few
years ago, now includes over 350 national, regional and local
organizations, including the 76 cited in the study.
The study includes numerous recommendations for traditional
environmental organizations, social and environmental justice
groups, universities, charitable foundations, and others.
It also provides profiles of organizations, such as the Natural
Resources Defense Council, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth
who have achieved success combining social justice and environmental
concerns at the community level, and have worked toward diversifying
their staffs and boards.
The report also dispels the myth that minorities are not
interested in becoming environmental activists, and asserts that
colleges and universities have done a poor job in "building a
pipeline" of minority students with an interest in environmental
subjects and careers.
Among the organizations surveyed were such well-known
environmental and social justice groups as Friends of the Earth,
Greenpeace, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense
Council, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public
Land, The Wilderness Society, National Urban League, National
Council of La Raza, and the Native American Rights Fund.
The Environmental Careers Organization is a national nonprofit
organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the environment
through developing professionals, promoting careers, and inspiring
individual action. ECO carries out its mission through four
inter-related services: placement, career advisement, career books
and reports, and research and consulting services. With the help
of numerous partners, ECO has gathered resources from all four of
its services to carry out the Minority Opportunities Program.
"Beyond the Green: Redefining and Diversifying the Environmental
Movement" can be purchased by sending a check for $15, plus
$2.50 for postage and handling, to The Environmental Careers
Organization, 286 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210.
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Following is the text of the open letter:
Dear Friend,
On this twenty-third Earth Day, the environmental movement can
take pride in its achievements. When we pause from our daily work
and look back at what has been accomplished since 1970, even the
most cynical among us would admit that the environmental thinking
of Americans is changing for the better and that environmental
nonprofit organizations have played a role in creating that change.
We also know that the environmental movement still has
formidable challenges. We are writing to you today because of our
concern about one of those challenges: the crucial need for
environmental and conservation organizations to diversify staffs,
directing boards, memberships and agendas to reflect the needs and
concerns of a multi-cultural America.
There is a growing movement, led by people of color at the
grassroots level, to address environmental problems in communities
throughout the nation. Hispanic, Native, African and Asian
Americans, whose communities are often disproportionately impacted
by environmental pollution and land destruction, are demanding
"environmental justice" -- the right of all people to live in a
safe and healthy environment.
The environmental justice movement is only the most visible sign
of the interest which people of color have in environmental and
conservation concerns. We see it also through a growing number of
environmental professionals of color; through the growth in the
selection of environmental degrees by minority college students;
and in the attention given to environmental issues by people of
color when voting for elected officials.
We do not see it enough in environmental organizations. We, who
advocate for the value of biological diversity, have not equally
embraced the power of human diversity.
Included with this letter is a copy of findings and
recommendations to environmental organizations from a new book
entitled "Beyond the Green: Redefining and Diversifying the
Environmental Movement." The book was written by The Environmental
Careers Organization based on a one-year survey of 140
environmental groups throughout the United States. We believe that
these recommendations should receive wide circulation.
As we celebrate Earth Day and our common dependence on the
living planet which supports us, we urge you to review these
recommendations. We challenge you to look honestly at your
organization and to act with courage and imagination to create an
environmental movement in which social justice, environmental
protection and conservation are partners for change.
We particularly challenge the leaders of national, regional and
local environmental nonprofits to make diversification a top
priority. Executives, board members, senior staff people,
foundation heads, individual donors and others must enforce a "no
excuses" policy which demands results. Over the last twenty-three
years, we have seen that environmental nonprofit groups, working
with limited resources, can accomplish amazing things when there is
a strong will to do so. Let us apply that kind of energy to
redefining and diversifying the American environmental movement.
Earth Day is a time for us to celebrate and reflect. When we
gather one year from now for Earth Day, 1994, let us be celebrating
a year of increasing human diversity in the environmental movement
and reflecting on the great things that can be done when Americans
from all races, classes, ethnic groups and walks of life work
together for a change.
Sincerely,
John Adams Charles Lee
Executive Director United Church of Christ
Natural Resources Defense Commission for Racial Justice
Council
Deeohn Ferris John R. Cook Jr.
Lawyer's Committee for President and Founder
Civil Rights Under Law The Environmental Careers
Organization
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