Environmental Groups Say They Support Black People But Struggle To Advocate For Them
At least twice a week, Donna Washington tends a 15,000-square-foot garden of native flowers, fruit trees and several rows of vegetables at Jubilee Community Church in north St. Louis.
The church has received nearly $40,000 from The Nature Conservancy since 2018 to build the garden, which provides produce to local restaurants and nearby residents. But largely white mainstream environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club often are not present in predominantly Black neighborhoods and spend most of their time advocating for policies and outdoor recreation programs that do not address the needs of Black communities.
Washington, 63, has lived in the area near Jubilee Community Church for her entire life and grew up gardening with her mother and neighbors. Before working on the church’s garden, she was not aware of the conservancy. Environmental groups likely avoided Black neighborhoods like hers for decades, she said.
“They probably think we are not interested,” Washington said. “That’s because of the crime and the stereotype that Blacks don’t want anything. I think that’s mainly what it is.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2020-08-13/environmental-groups-say-they-support-black-people-but-struggle-to-advocate-for-them
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