Rachel Cargle Discusses the Importance of Understanding and Teaching about Environmental Injustice Based on Race
Rachel Cargle, a renowned academic, writer, and lecturer, is making waves in the activism scene with her holistic approach to dismantling systemic racism. Her work offers moments of self-understanding and self-empowerment for Black people, showcasing them in various environmental roles such as foragers, snowboarders, water activists, and global citizens.
Cargle's activism is not confined to one issue; instead, she emphasizes the interconnections between race, gender, and social equity. By highlighting how environmental issues disproportionately affect marginalized communities, particularly Black people and women, she calls for reimagining societal structures to address these layered injustices simultaneously.
Cargle's platforms, including Instagram, bridge academia and pop culture, offering education, knowledge, and history on Black environmentalism. Her Instagram series during Black History Month, for instance, encourages followers to educate themselves. She takes this approach to educate her followers, encouraging them to avoid consistently existing in a space that is in defense of or in service of whiteness.
One of Cargle's most significant contributions is her emphasis on mental healthcare for the Black community, particularly in the context of environmental racism and its impact on mental and emotional health. Her work brings attention to the weathering that happens to the physical body, mental, and emotional health of Black people due to environmental racism.
Cargle's influence extends beyond education and public awareness. She facilitates unlearning around these topics, encouraging systemic change rather than surface-level reforms. Her work contributes to a more expansive human rights framework that includes environmental health as a component of racial and gender equity.
Cargle's activism also extends to community organizing that recognizes the compound effects of racism, sexism, and environmental degradation. She amplifies the need for policy and cultural shifts that ensure equitable treatment in both social and environmental systems.
Moreover, Cargle's work brings recognition to non-Black people about the historical connections between Black people and the natural environment. She discusses the necessity of acknowledging Indigenous communities in conversations about race and environment, as they are put into compromising spaces of being on stolen land.
Cargle's projects, such as the Great Unlearn, where scholars of colour discuss their expertise on a topic, and her work with the Loveland Foundation, focused on supporting Black women and girls, further demonstrate her commitment to community healing and empowerment.
Cargle's work has been featured in various publications, including Atmos, where she curates a monthly series on the intersection of race and the environment. She wrote a beautiful cover story for Atmos Volume 04: Cascade on Black cowboys. Cargle also appeared on Red Table Talk in 2019 discussing white privilege.
In conclusion, Rachel Cargle's work is twofold, offering education and reiteration of the necessity of mental healthcare for the Black community. Her approach to environmental justice is not a separate strand but a vital part of her efforts to dismantle systemic racism, enhancing the reach and depth of her activism by addressing interconnected systems of oppression.
- Rachel Cargle, through her work, is shining a light on the intersection of race, gender, and social equity, particularly emphasizing how environmental issues impact marginalized communities like Black people and women, calling for a shift in societal structures to address these layered injustices.
- Cargle extends her activism to various platforms, including Instagram, where she bridges academia and pop culture, offering education, knowledge, and history on Black environmentalism, encouraging followers to address the interplay of systemic racism and environmental degradation.
- Cargle's initiatives, like the Great Unlearn and her collaboration with the Loveland Foundation, serve to heal and empower Black communities, as well as highlight historical connections between Black people and the natural environment.
- Cargle's work has gained recognition in several publications, including Atmos, where she curates a monthly series on the intersection of race and the environment, and she has written insightful pieces on Black cowboys for Atmos Volume 04: Cascade.
- In her quest to dismantle systemic racism, Cargle expands the human rights framework by advocating for environmental health as a crucial component of racial and gender equity, recognizing the compound effects of racism, sexism, and environmental degradation on vulnerable communities.
