I wanted to make a book list for Earth Day.

I went to a predominantly white elementary school in Toledo. I remember observing Earth Day as an 8^th grader when we focused on ecology. I think we considered the beauty of nature and how it was affected by pollution. I don’t have a memory of talking about this when I went home to my Black neighborhood, but we did have Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me”.

Woah, ah, mercy, mercy me
Ah, things ain’t what they used to be (ain’t what they used to be)
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north and south and east

Woah mercy, mercy me, yeah
Ah, things ain’t what they used to be (ain’t what they used to be)
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury

Oh Jesus, yeah, mercy, mercy me, ah
Ah, things ain’t what they used to be (ain’t what they used to be)
Radiation underground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying

Hey, mercy, mercy me, oh
Hey, things ain’t what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land?
How much more abuse from man can she stand?

Even as an adult, Earth Day didn’t seem like it was meant for me. Yet air, water, and soil contaminants were festering in low income and Black and brown neighborhoods. On a global level, corporations were moving factories to the Mexican border, India, and other Asian countries where labor was cheap, and natural resources were considered to be disposable commodities.

I don’t think children’s literature began associating Blacks, indeed BIPOC people in general, in life afferming ways with nature until 2019 when Michelle Martin asked, “Where is the Black Blueberries for Sal?”. Martin herself was already exploring nature, as were thousands of other BIPOC people. And, we were already involved in eco justice activism.

Still, finding books from traditional publishers for an Earth Day list for BIPOC youth continues to be a challenge. Our work continues to exist in the margins while we continue to face disproportionate threats to our health because of green or clean or eco colonialism. Our voices work to disrupt pollution in the global south that is create from corporations from outside their communities. Publishers continue their narrow perspective of what BIPOC people do, or how ordinary our lives can be.

I wanted to find books especially written for young people because they build access to understanding by providing backstories and communicating in accessible language. But then, I listen to Elsa Mengistu and realized that not only do young people grasp the language of environmental justice, but they are shaping it while they’re leading movements to save us all. I think the way they choose to lead and disseminate information is directly related to the clip at which things are evolving. They’re knowledge sharing incorporates metaliteracy beyond text (I,e. books), making information more widely accessible. I had to incorporate these young leaders into my reading list. For that reason, you’ll find books, TedTalks, podcasts, and links to online articles.

In the words of Jamie Margolin, “this is the last generation that will be able to do something about climate change.”

So, I made a list.

Anacostia High School Students, edited by Caroline Brewere. Through My Anacostia Eyes: Environmental Problems and Possibilities. Conservation Nation, 2023.
“Anacostia Through My Eyes tells a story of love, loss, history, mystery, hope, reclamation, and anticipation in the natural world, through the lens of Anacostia High School students in Washington, D.C. Student reflections on the natural world were inspired by reading children’s literature on the environment, outdoor excursions, visits to local and federal environmental agencies, and talks with environmental professionals and activists. The book boasts 72 pages, 56 photos, and 44 essays, poems, and reports. It is the product of partnerships between Conservation Nation, author Caroline Brewer, the University of the District of Columbia, the Department of the Interior, and the Justice 40 Summer Internship Initiative at Anacostia High School.” (from the publisher)

Drutman, Kristy. Brown Girl Green Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brown-girl-green/id1438363074
Any episode in this series is great, but if I have to pick one, I’d say start with “Let’s Talk about Small Island Developing States.” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-talk-about-small-island-developing-states/id1438363074?i=1000649394731
In this episode, Kristy talks with Jeremy Raguain, Jeremy a youth activist volunteering his time to the representation of young people – especially those from islands, Africa and Global South – in environmental and sustainability issues.

Kristi, Filipino American, is a media host, environmental educator, and solutions builder.

Ettachifini, Leila. “Isra Hirsi is 16, Unbothered, and Saving the Planet.” Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a357wp/isra-hirsi-ilhan-omar-daughter-climate-strike-profile
“She’s not into hiking, though she did go camping once (mainly because it was a free trip). Her advocacy has nothing to do with a deep love for the outdoors and everything to do with the communities disproportionately hurt by climate change—not because their favorite rafting river is drying up, but because their drinking water is poisoned and the air they breathe is killing them. To her, this is the only climate advocacy that makes sense.” (from the article)

Climate activist Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, is an environmental justice activist. At age 13, she co-founded US Youth Climate Strike, a group that organizes students skipping school in order to protest for environmentalist austerity policies to combat climate change.

Gore, Sydney. “Meet the BIPOC Farmers Cultivation Green Spaces in NYC: Like Fashion, Farming is Political Too.” Teen Vogue, 2020. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-the-bipoc-farmers-cultivating-green-spaces-in-nyc
“Sustainable agriculture isn’t a new concept that is breaking the “grass ceiling” so to speak. Organic farming actually comes from an indigenous African system that was resuscitated by the agricultural scientist and plant doctor George Washington Carver, who pushed southern farming methods toward diversified horticulture operations. BIPOC have been doing this labor without taking proper credit for centuries, but the co-operative farming movement will not carry on in silence. Riapos, Lugo, Pérez-Rodríguez, Jamira, and Vazquez recognize that this is their legacy as ecological citizens because industrialized food systems won’t save us or the planet.” (from the article)

Johnson, Ayana Elizabeth. What If We Get It Right? One World, Sept. 2024
“Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.” (from the publisher)

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. She is co-founder of the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, co-founder of the climate initiative,

Kimmerer, Robin Wall, Smith, Monique Gray, and illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt. . Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Zest Books, 2022.
Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things—from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen—provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation. (from the publisher)

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, Potawatomi botanist, and director of the Center for Native Peoples of the Environment at the State University of New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry.

Monique Gray Smith, Cree Lakota, is a mother, storyteller, and an award winning author.

Lauriston, Charla and Lauren Domino. “32. Decolonizing Climate Activism with Elsa Mengistu.” The Secret Lives of Black Women Podcast. 2022 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/32-decolonizing-climate-activism-with-elsa-mengistu/id1471422562?i=1000473100233
“This week 18-year-old climate justice organizer Elsa Mengistu (our future president) fills us in on what it’s been like to fight for the environment at Howard University and bring her race-conscious approach to the national stage. Her insights show there are big divides between the youth movement and adult organizers. But like a true future president, she outlines a way for each of us to fight climate justice like the function of white supremacy that it is.”

Elsa Mengistu is an award-winning Black woman strategist and visionary working within the environmental and social impact spaces. She’s As an expert on youth empowerment, organizing, and social impact.

Margolin, Jamie; forward by Greta Thunberg. Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It. Hachette Go, 2020.
“In Youth to Power, Jamie presents the essential guide to changemaking, with advice on writing and pitching op-eds, organizing successful events and peaceful protests, time management as a student activist, utilizing social and traditional media to spread a message, and sustaining long-term action. She features interviews with prominent young activists including Tokata Iron Eyes of the #NoDAPL movement and Nupol Kiazolu of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, who give guidance on handling backlash, keeping your mental health a priority, and how to avoid getting taken advantage of.”

Jamie Margolin, 17, is a first-generation daughter of a Colombian immigrant. In 2017, at age 15, she co-founded of the climate action organization Zero Hour, an international youth climate justice movement. As a queer, Jewish, Latina climate activist, Jamie’s passion is to protect mother earth.

Xiye Bastida, Shiv Soin and Latif Nasser. “Dear world leaders, these are our climate demands” Ted Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/xiye_bastida_shiv_soin_and_latif_nasser_dear_world_leaders_these_are_our_climate_demands
“Investing in green energy, holding large corporations accountable for their pollution, stopping pipeline and oil extraction initiatives — these are non-negotiable actions to protect the planet, but they are still just the bare minimum, say climate activists Xiye Bastida and Shiv Soin. In conversation with radio researcher Latif Nasser, Bastida and Soin share their list of six crucial climate demands for world leaders — and discuss how we all can get involved.” (from the TEdTalk site)

Xiye Bastida, Indigenous Mexican (Otomi) climate activist and leading organizer of Fridays for the Future. She cofounded Re-Earth Initiative, an international nonprofit organization that is inclusive and intersectional “just as the climate movement should be.”

Shiv Soin, the co-founder and Executive Director of TREEage, a youth grassroots group fighting to create and implement a local Green New Deal in New York City.

Shah, Bindi V.  Laotian Daughters: Working Toward Community, Belonging, and Environmental Justice. Temple University Press, 2011.
“Laotian Daughters focuses on second-generation environmental justice activists in Richmond, California. Bindi Shah’s pathbreaking book charts these young women’s efforts to improve the degraded conditions in their community and explores the ways their activism and political practices resist the negative stereotypes of race, class, and gender associated with their ethnic group.

Using ethnographic observations, interviews, focus groups, and archival data on their participation in Asian Youth Advocates-a youth leadership development project—Shah analyzes the teenagers’ mobilization for social rights, cross-race relations, and negotiations of gender and inter-generational relations. She also addresses issues of ethnic youth, and immigration and citizenship and how these shape national identities. Shah ultimately finds that citizenship as a social practice is not just an adult experience, and that ethnicity is an ongoing force in the political and social identities of second-generation Laotians.” (from the publisher)

Dr Bindi Shah is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Bindi’s research focuses on migration, religion, nationhood, citizenship, belonging with respect to British Asians and Asian Americans, the Jain diaspora, and wider migration and refugee flows to the UK, as well as on the role of social capital to foster environmental and climate sustainability and justice amongst marginalised groups.

Thompson-Hernandez. The Compton Cowboys: Young Readers’ Edition: And the Fight to Save Their Horse Ranch. HarperCollins 2021
A difference aspect of environmental activism.
“The Compton Cowboys is a story about trauma and transformation, race and identity, compassion, and ultimately, belonging. Walter Thompson-Hernández paints a unique and unexpected portrait of this city, pushing back against stereotypes to reveal an urban community in all its complexity, tragedy, and triumph.” (from the publisher)