Earth Day and the Teaching of Environmental Justice

It's Earth Day 2009! Now that everyone is in an environmental frame of mind, I thought I would post some information on various resources we can use to teach environmental justice from an antiracist and anti-imperialist feminist perspective.

Books To Teach:
Earth Democracy by Vandana Shiva: a veritable connect-the-dots in oppression manifesto, in which Shiva calls for "a new way of seeing, one in which everything is not at war with everything else, but through which we can cooperate to create peace, sustainability, and justice in our violent and violable times" (p. 115).

All Our Relations by Winona LaDuke: a documentation of the different indigenous groups across the Americas, who connect Native land rights and struggle with environmental justice.

Unbowed by Wangari Mathai's inspiring memoir that reveals how one woman can start a movement, in her case the Green Belt Movement that sprang from her native Kenya, planting one tree at a time. Mathai is the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Boundaries by Maya Lin: a minimalist and skillful art book documenting the work of Maya Lin, famed architect and designer of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall and Alabama's Civil Rights Memorial. Even with these monuments, the book illustrates the environmental consciousness Lin embeds in each of her stunning work - most notably the "Peace Chapel" and the "Wave Field." She also discusses her plans for a "last memorial," which is a satellite monitoring project over the most endangered areas on Planet Earth.

Films to Watch:
Empty Oceans, Empty Nets: a documentary film exploring the global fishing crisis.

Thirst: a documentary film exploring the global movement to resist the privatization of water.

The Naked Option: A Last Resort: a forthcoming documentary film exploring the 2002 protest of women living in the Niger Delta oil rich region, where they resisted environmental and cultural ruin in their standoff against Chevron-Texaco.

The Global Banquet: Politics of Food: a documentary film that explores the globalization of the world's food economy and world hunger.

Daughters of the Dust: Speaking of the politics of food, the banquet scene alone is worth watching in this classic feature film from 1992 by Julie Dash. This is a film that we don't often think of in terms of environmental justice, but watched from this perspective, one can appreciate the spiritual dimensions Dash captures in the sustainable environments offered when black people live off the land.

Antonia's Line: Another feature film that we don't necessarily think of in terms of environmental justice is this 1996 film by Marlene Gorris, which tells the story of a powerful woman raising her daughter and her subsequent matrilineal line on her farm in Holland.

Artists Who Raise Our Consciousness:
Judy Baca: Chicana feminist muralist and artist. Her Website.
Betsey Damon: Conceptual Artist and Founder of the Global Community Project, Keepers of the Waters.
Vijali Hamilton: Earth-based artist and designer of World Wheel Earth Mandala.
Praba Pilar: Conceptual and Performance artist exploring environmental and technological issues. Her Website.

Activists Who Raise Our Consciousness:
Majora Carter - founder of Sustainable South Bronx.
National Black Environmental Justice Network.

Pedagogy Project Possibilities:
- Start a Community Garden on Campus, or Collaborate on an existing community garden in the local area!
- Incorporate Google Earth or Google Oceans to monitor "trouble spots" pertaining to sustainability, world hunger, or endangered species.
- Create a Community Art Project highlighting nature or sustainability of urban life.
- Begin a Conservation of Energy Activity Sustained Over a Period of Time, one that has more lasting power than a simple 24-hour "turn off the lights day" or "boycott oil day," etc.

Happy Earth Day!