#OurStoriesInVividColor

Standing Up in The Rise of Asian Hate

Running for office at 18 was one of the most significant experiences that has shaped me who I am today. In the second grade, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have had much trouble with body image throughout my life. And growing up, I was often bullied, I was the student that ate lunch in the bathroom. I spent all four years of high school going through mental health therapy and counseling, so that I could “get fixed”. I was broken and traumatized, but I am thankful for the political community in Colorado giving me a space to grow. I was always apologetic, but as I started to gain much support from youth activists and was making big career moves in the world of law & policy, I soon grew out of that nature.

I am who I am today, more confident, unapologetic, conquering the world, because I was able to defy the odds. No matter a win or loss, I was the first Indian American woman who stood up in front of White Conservative Christians during the Rise of Asian Hate.

My #DreamGreen Activism

My name is Storm Lewis, and I am a food justice and climate equity activist based in New York City. I am also the co-founder of Who’s Hungry, a food justice-based mutual aid initiative in Brooklyn. As a Black woman living in the city, I have seen firsthand the effects of food insecurity on low-income communities. I have also conducted community-based research, which documents the principles of food sovereignty present and absent from these food systems. I believe that access to sustainable, culturally appropriate food is a human right. Therefore, we must protect the land and farmers cultivating our food systems. I envision a future in which urban food systems can foster community ownership and connections between marginalized groups and local farmers. It is thus imperative that the 30×30 initiative receive the support needed to uplift farmers and urban consumers.

#DreamGreen: Navajo Nation's Water Quality

In the Navajo Nation, about 15% of homes are not connected to regulated water systems. Unregulated wells typically have more contamination issues than regulated wells. Abandoned mines left behind environmental issues such as elevated levels of uranium and arsenic in water. Many Navajo people living in the Navajo Nation have a higher risk of kidney and lung cancer from exposure to Arsenic and Uranium in the drinking water. My research is focused on whether the bedrock chemistry of the Navajo Nation affects water quality. We wanted to see if there were high values of Arsenic in the bedrock that could leach into surrounding water aquifers. We found higher values of Arsenic in the clay bedrock, which is encouraging because water is less likely to flow through clay than sand. There is a social injustice and colonization that minorities and indigenous communities have historically experienced and continue to experience today. Indigenous people are the last people on this planet that are still connected to the operating system of Mother Earth. It would be very wise to stop and listen to us because although less than 5% of the population of this planet is of indigenous origin. We hold stewardship of over 50 percent of the planet’s natural resources. Social justice, indigenous rights, human rights, are also the intersection between environmental issues and women’s rights. Therefore women are the most affected people when it comes to biodiversity laws. Indigenous people’s women and environmental issues all intersect. Indigenous women rising to the position of leadership in their community to fight for social injustice, human rights, indigenous rights, and environmental justice.

For People and Planet

I work for a small environmental nonprofit that spreads awareness for ecosystem restoration. Restoring ecosystems means helping nature revive. It also means recognizing the role each living thing has in the circle of life. Of course, Indigenous Peoples have known this for centuries.

I advocate for a healthy environment for the sake of public health, as well. Marginalized communities are more likely to live near toxic industrial factories, less likely to live in areas with urban green spaces, and more likely to become sick due to pollution. To address these inequalities, I participate in campaigns that push for environmentally just policies.

The only reason I have the time and resources to get involved in different initiatives is my family. My parents immigrated from Bogotá, Colombia. Ever since they arrived in the United States, they have worked hard to build a small family business. Thanks to them, I earned a Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy- the first graduate degree in our family. Everything I have done has been with my family and motherland in mind. Without the beauty of my culture, I would not be the person I am today.

Tearing Down Environmental Racism and Building Environmental Justice

My name is Diamond Spratling and I am the founder of Millennials 4 Environmental Justice(M4EJ) which is a small nonprofit organization working to inform, advocate for, and engage with Black and Brown millennials across the U.S. to fight for environmental justice in their own neighborhoods. As a Black millennial myself, I am especially passionate about intersecting health equity and racial and social justice to the environment.

Since first starting M4EJ in 2019, I’ve built a small board of directors completely ran by passionate millennials. We’ve been very successful in our advocacy efforts through hosting webinars on various topics such as gentrification, housing disparities, and environmental health. In addition, we launched our This Is Gentrification campaign, a digital magazine featuring interviews, news articles, videos, quizzes, and research around gentrification vulnerability. One of our most recent efforts is starting our Green Table Talk where we invite young people of color to be guests on our live YouTube channel where they can talk about their awesome efforts around environmental justice and have informal conversations about today’s pressing issues.

I’m excited to continue doing this amazing work and I’m hoping that M4EJ can continue to have a great impact on communities of color.

Toiell Washington

I am Toiell Washington, a local activist in the city of Boston. While I have several different experiences in dating violence, gun violence, and other violence prevention work in my city, I believe my real story starts on May 31st 2020. On this date, myself and two other Black women organized the first Boston protest that resulted in 20,000+ people, to march for the defunding of police and justice for BIPOC wrongly murdered by police. Never in my life had I organized something so large, powerful, and impactful. Seeing so many people come together for this issue radicalized me in ways I still have yet to process. We marched together as Black bostonians in the city, and that is exactly what we became, Black Boston. Today, Black Boston is a community organization full of young people like myself that fight for the elimanitation of racial discrimination. Since May, we have held several demonstrations across the city, hosted several live/webinars to teach people about current issues affecting Black people, and collaborated with different non-profits and grassroot orgs to fundraise for Black individuals in need of resources. This is how I lead. I lead by utilizing my voice to speak for those who can’t. I lead by extending resources to those who don’t have access to it. I use my voice by educating my community on the systems created against us, in hopes that we can dodge these barriers and rise as a collective.

Recently, I have been working on something that will help impact people beyond a local level. The Master’s Tools is a game company I created that’s geared towards teaching people about these oppressive systems in a way that’s more digestible to learn. Through card games, board games, etc.., I hope to help start conversations around race, class, gender/sexuality in a non-traditional way. These games will be for students, adults, people who want to learn all the structures put in place to keep the Black community and other minoritized communities at a disadvantage. My first card game ‘Meet the Colonizers’ is a card game that exposes American Hero’s and ideas. These cards list trivia questions that encourage unlearning lies told throughout history. To call out the facts the education system constantly chooses to ignore.

Kayla Kelly

Ever since I saw my peers enter into the school-to-prison pipeline and how my grandparent’s garden empowered the community, I’ve felt compelled to become a servant to my underrepresented community. I strive to liberate my people who are targeted by all systems of capitalism and white supremacy, both through the carceral system and the proletariat. Through the carceral system, I’ve established an online platform that allows users to purchase books and educational materials for incarcerated people to reduce recidivism. Through members of the community, I’ve started a mutual aid network called Heal Da Homies, which was created to meet the needs of marginalized communities that are victims of systemic racism and inter-generational oppression due to food insecurity and policing systems. Through these initiatives, my goal is to empower my people with political education and the tools needed to combat the fascism that is embedded within our society.

Who's Next?

2014 New York City BLM/Police Brutality Protest

The Black Lives Matter protest in Tampa, FL on May 31st, 2020.

This video captures the solidarity of Tampa with their black residents. Though this was from 6 months ago, black lives still matter. They will always matter. We cannot forget.

I was born and raised in the central part of the Navajo Nation. I graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in both Sociology and Honors in Ethnic Studies in 2017. I have an M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from The University of Rhode Island. I am currently a doctoral student at the University of Denver in Higher Education with research interests in the ongoing influence of settler colonialism and the role of social media within higher education.

My experience with writing is transforming memories into reflections. I am always constantly asking myself what does it mean to be Diné, Queer, and Trans in this century.

(From Charlie’s website: www.dineaesthetics.com/ )

This piece reflects my fear that, as an immigrant, me and my family are last in line for the vaccine.