- Africville, Nova Scotia, is a devastating example of environmental racism. Many of its first settlers were former American slaves. Visit Environmental Justice Atlas to learn more about this tragedy and how residents were exposed to toxic waste: https://www.ejatlas.org/conflict/africville-nova-scotia
- Read more about the calls on Halifax to take responsibility and acknowledge the harms done to African Nova Scotian communities, and the need for Africville reparations: https://ecologyaction.ca/africvillereparations
- The ENRICH Project provides an excellent multimedia resource which includes a documentary, collection of articles, maps and more on environmental racism in Nova Scotian communities: https://www.enrichproject.org/resources/#Maps
Environmental racism is a problem in Canada. It refers to the interconnectedness of environmental health, socio-economic conditions, and racialized discrimination. As Kaitlyn Mitchell wrote, the first step is admitting we have a problem: https://ecojustice.ca/enviro-racism-we-have-a-problem/
- If you have a Netflix subscription, check out the Canadian documentary “There’s Something in the Water.” The film explores the environmental damage done to Black Canadians and Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia.
- “Report of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its mission to Canada” contains an analysis of the current legal & policy measures taken to prevent racism & xenophobia, highlighting positive developments and gaps in implementation: https://digitallibrary.un.org
- Bill C-230, “An Act respecting the development of a national strategy to redress environmental racism” received its first reading in February 2020. Legislation such as Bill C-230 are critical to protecting vulnerable communities: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-1/bill/C-230/first-reading
- Check out Black Environmental Initiative, a project dedicated to the involvement of racialized communities in environmental action and education: https://beinitiative.com/
- Prof. Ingrid Waldron of Dalhousie University, together with Naolo Charles of the Black Environmental Initiative, created a national coalition to address environmental racism across Canada: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/12/03/dalhousie-university- -forming-coalition-to-address-environmental-racism-across-canada.html
Environmental Hero
We are celebrating an environmental hero: the late Wangari Mathai, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate awarded for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace:
- Watch her Nobel Prize lecture from 2004 here: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2004/maathai/lecture/
- Wangari Mathai founded the Green Belt Movement and authored four books. If you want to check out more of her work and learn about her legacy, go to: https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai
- “Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai” is an excellent film showcasing Wangari Mathai’s story, and is translated into 12 different languages: https://vimeopro.com/marlboroproductions/taking-root-the-vision-of-wangari-maathai
Black environmental activists in Canada – Food Security and Sovereignty
We want to highlight Black environmental activism in Canada, particularly within the area of food security and sovereignty. This Future Farmers Report highlights the challenges of Black farmers in the Greater Toronto Area: https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/social-innovation/News/FutureFarmers_ReportandBibliography_RU.pdf
- Listen to Executive Director of Afri-Can Food Basket, Anan Lololi, talk about food sovereignty and creating a “Black food ecosystem” in Toronto: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/black-food-sovereignty-toronto-food-advocates-1.5857154
- Cheyenne Sundance is a “young urban femme farmer and an activist for justice and sovereignty through her school, workshops and farm cooperative based in Toronto”: https://melaninass.com/blog/2020/3/31/this-22-year-old-urban-femme-farmer-is-an-activist-for-justice-amp-sovereignty-through-her-school-workshops-and-cooperative
- Watch this interview with Cheyenne Sundance to learn more about her and her founding of Sundance Harvest, a food justice-centred, year-round urban farm in Toronto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDiwXRQ9GiQ