In 1991, environmental organizers of color convened to create the 17 pillars of environmental justice, formally establishing the environmental justice (EJ) movement in the United States. They did so to fight the toxic industries that were exploiting their neighborhoods, interrogate the dominant white narrative in mainstream environmentalism, and overturn the social-political systems that continued their oppression.
Today, environmental justice organizers address the same issues, but within the context of a drastically different activism landscape: With the rise of highly publicized youth climate strikes, a lot of climate organizing has moved over to social media, allowing some activists to make a living off of videos, infographics, and ads that promote sustainability.
While social platforms can allow for more voices to be heard and for activists to connect across borders, they also reflect societal inequities. Only a certain type of account usually gets famous. Someone deemed “media-friendly” — i.e. someone who is conventionally attractive by Western standards, good at marketing themselves, and based
— source teenvogue.com | Amber X. Chen, Alexia Leclercq | Jun 29, 2022