CCL-CEJ team survey - What barriers to EJ engagement do you have, if any?
Hi Climate & Environmental Justice action team members,
Let's do a quick temperature check of our group.
In our team's EJ toolkit and trainings, as well as when looking at Democratic Organizing and EJ Principles, there is a strong undercurrent of commitment to self-transformation, of offering service to communities, of self-determination of EJ communities. There is consistent encouragement of engaging with environmental justice at a local level.
So a question for all of you is: Are you satisfied with where you are in your EJ journey and engagement?
If yes, how are you engaging? If not, what are the barriers standing in your way?
Is it time? is it knowledge? or something else entirely? Please join the conversation below.
We talk a lot in our action team about engaging, but of course everyone has limited time. We're wondering if we give you back half an hour of time, starting with our monthly action team meeting this month, to work on outreach, making calls, doing research, building relationships; if that would make it more likely for you to move forward on your own EJ journey? or is there another barrier that wouldn't be helped with some extra time?
What do you think?
Thanks for thinking about this!
with gratitude,
Debbie & CEJ Steering Committee
@D C
My personal barrier is not time, it is groups to connect with. This is a broad justice issue, not specific to climate justice.
The politcal party I'm in says expanding to new people is not worth our limited resources, and stonewalls or ignores any ideas or questions from me. But I think I have an answer for that, for now (do things in their name without asking).
My biggest problem is with more progressive groups. The largest Indivisble group around me, which has made impacts statewide, told me just last night that people who said America isn't in a civil war because there's not mass physical violence or death are stuck in white supremacy, and then the co leader of this group agreed and said I was acting too white (she's also white) and misogynistic. And just about every active member hearted that. I confirmed with my friend in DC and my friend who is a diplomat for Canada, that this is whack. Which is just one example, but more broadly, I find any group that lends itself to more justice minded issues around me, does not feel they want me there. I've donated my time and money for this Indivisible group, and get insulted every time I speak. Which probably is just this one group being an issue, but there are no other local groups involved in advocacy or work like this, except maybe churches or the animal shelter. I'm pretty sure I'm the most progressive person within a 20 mile radius (most people in the local Indivisible group live beyond that) and there's no local groups that want me.
Even more to the point, my time and energy for EJ, I think, is better spent in larger groups like national. Given 30 minutes, there is nothing I am not already doing or trying locally I could do. I may be unique, especially being rural, but these national groups are my best place to feel connected to recharge from tiring doing.
Also also, my CCL chapter “exists” but apparently voted to not do chapter meetings and only meet for lobbying, so I forgot about them
@Jaiden Shahan
More addendum
I am bad at doing things that aren't in my email so I did miss the last meeting 😭. I'll add the future ones right now to my calendar.
And more general general, the monthly meetings here are the only chance I currently have to discuss climate with a group, but I understand in most other areas thats not the case, and the 30 minutes can be very helpful.
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