Name: The Intersectional Environmentalist
Rating: 4.222222222222222 (9 reviews)
ISBN: 9780316279291

Leah Thomas

How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet

The Intersectional Environmentalist

Karolina

Social injustice and environmental injustice are fueled by the same flame: the undervaluing, commodification, and exploitation of all forms of life and natural resources, from the smallest blade of grass to those living in poverty and oppressed people worldwide.

But philanthropy is colonial and reinforces racist and patriarchal power structures, charity is self-congratulatory, and aid comes with impossible conditions and is often coercive. We should instead be focusing on solidarity, coalition, justice, empathy, and reparations.

Racism is killing the planet. Coloniality leads to an ideology that casts most humans as disposable. If humans can be disposable, is it such a leap to assume the natural world is disposable also?

Emiley Jones

What was the key goal of the second wave feminist women's rights movement? I think a fair answer would be the equality of women in all sectors of life. This is an admirable goal, but if those who are setting these goals aren't representative of all women, all women won't be equally protected as a result. Even if everyone is united by the common thread of being women, there is a danger when what's being considered a universal women's experience is only reflective of those who are privileged in other crucially defining areas in society, like race, class, and sexuality.

With complete knowledge of our past, we have a better shot at improving the outcomes of our future.

A good educational and informational book on intersectional environmentalism. An interesting topic that is actually quite common in todays political and societal discussions, the ideology had lacked a term in these discussions and through this book helped me learn a lot. 

Madeleine

I think I’d have enjoyed this book more if it was my introduction to the subject of intersectionality and environment. It’s an okay written primer, but it does mostly focus on the US and it was fairly repetitive on main points. Very surface-level.

Lindsay

From the activist who coined the term comes a primer on intersectional environmentalism for the next generation of activists looking to create meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable change. The Intersectional Environmentalist examines the inextricable link between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and promotes awareness of the fundamental truth that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people -- especially those most often unheard. Written by Leah Thomas, a prominent voice in the field and the activist who coined the term "Intersectional Environmentalism," this book is simultaneously a call to action, a guide to instigating change for all, and a pledge to work towards the empowerment of all people and the betterment of the planet. Thomas shows how not only are Black, Indigenous and people of color unequally and unfairly impacted by environmental injustices, but she argues that the fight for the planet lies in tandem to the fight for civil rights; and in fact, that one cannot exist without the other. An essential read, this book addresses the most pressing issues that the people and our planet face, examines and dismantles privilege, and looks to the future as the voice of a movement that will define a generation.

The Intersectional Environmentalist How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet

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