On Tuesday, September 3rd, I had the privilege of facilitating Conversations Across the Generations, a discussion between four environmental justice activists aged 17-76 about the joys and challenges of building a coalition as expansive as the one for fossil fuel divestment. We had a lot of ground to cover in only one hour! Below are some key takeaways from the evening.
To build a truly intersectional and multi-generational environmental justice movement, we must:
Foster consistent spaces in which those from all generations and backgrounds can safely step in to share their ideas and experiences, and learn from each other.
One of the biggest subjects of discussion of the night (unsurprisingly) was about there being a tension between the “old guards” and the youth in our movement. How do we bridge the gap between elders and adults who have been in this fight for decades, whose pensions are at stake today, and youth who are just beginning their climate activism?
“I’m 17…but I might have a lot more knowledge than you think I do. We’re not new to this [as youth activists]. We know exactly what we’re talking about. We’re not trying to knock people down. We’re just trying to let people know that, ‘hey? Things need to change soon. Otherwise we’re all gonna be stuck.’”
Said panelist Bre’Asia Caldwell, when talking about her experience trying to talk to some California Teachers Association members about divestment during their most recent State Council meeting. She finds in some environmental justice spaces, perspectives that youth activists like her bring to the table are sometimes rebuffed by older activists, whom the panel speculated might be fearful of change when things have been done a certain way for a long time.
Conversely, an audience member wrote in the chat, “Is there anything the youth want to ask us elders?”
Evaluate Our Progress as a Movement More Often
Generation after generation, divestment has been a steadfast tenet of the broader environmental justice movement. As times are changing and the effects of fossil fuels are becoming more apparent in our society, one thing we can focus on is evaluating the progress of our movement, and really figuring out what has worked, and what are key changes we need to make moving forward. Panelist Jenn Biehn, 76, said,
“What I learned through all the years of co-creating communities of belonging is that after every meeting, after every group, [we should ask] “okay, what went well? Who got to speak? Did everybody get to speak? What can we do differently next time? How can we make this work? What is the process? The journey is as important as the outcome…it’s a collaborative effort.”
Along with evaluating progress, we need to celebrate our work and achievements. Too often, we move from one goal to another without recognizing the massive effort it took to reach the previous one. There will always be more work to do; but we should not let the work of putting an end to burning fossil fuels in turn burn us out.
Recognize the Stakes are High for Everyone
The panelists discussed whether or not different generations have different roles within the divestment movement. When asked if youth activists have more freedom than adults and elders to say, stage a protest at a politician’s office because they might not receive the same scrutiny that an older person would receive from an employer or the like, panelists concluded that youth do not get passes for sticking their necks out for the cause either. Things like college admissions and scholarships are at stake for youth activists. Panelists and audience members in the chat also discussed how retired elders might have more freedom in how they support divestment publicly, but are limited by factors like health issues and mobility.
“We all have to…have the dialogue and those conversations [about divestment] with our peers and spread awareness. I think we all have to play our role…it’s incumbent on all of us to think we all share the same responsibility, and I think that we all should share the same burden as well, when it comes to doing what’s right.”
Said Denisha Jordan, 52. In a later comment, Denisha brought up labor organizing and community schools as avenues to incorporate policies that protect communities, and spaces to interchange ideas about social issues respectively.
Play the Long Game
The nature of fossil fuel divestment requires us to build a strong, interconnected movement across the generations. We are chipping away at a massive stone with the unyielding faith that things will get better down the line as long as we keep striking. On this, panelist Luis Martinez, 27, said:
“I want to remind us that legislation is just one tool in our toolbox, right? The [divestment] bill that we were fighting so hard to get through the State legislature unfortunately didn’t get through. That doesn’t mean the fight’s over. The fight ends once you give up, and once you stop wanting to do this, that’s when fossil fuels have won. That’s when the polluter has won, and that’s not the game that we’re playing. We’re not playing to have the polluters win; we’re playing for working class communities who have been on the frontlines of pollution for decades to win. [There is a lot of power in] building more alliances with unions…[and continuing to build] with other frontline communities throughout the state, and other organizations that do environmental justice work.”
A big thanks to the panelists and audience members for your time and insightful participation in the panel. Conversations Across the Generations was the first in a series of events we’re calling the Environmental Justice Values Program. The EJ Values Program will consist of various web events like this one that will allow space for us to address long standing systemic obstacles that have historically and disproportionately impacted the communities that we advocate for and alongside with, namely working class and frontline communities.
