“I am an African-American student living in a society where being African-American puts me at risk to suffer from environmental racism. I use my platform and identity to focus my climate work on other minority communities suffering from the same form of racism.”

” I am fighting in the climate movement because women that look like me are going to be the most impacted. Social justice is environmental justice and if we don’t acknowledge that then we truly cannot fight climate change properly. The global south and low income communities are going to be the most affected by climate change so we must involve them as much as we can in climate planning.”

“My identity is consistently the core of why I do my work in climate. With my lived experiences in mind, I strive to amplify the stories of people often left out of climate conversations. My main focus is often on ensuring that the topic of climate is consistently localized and broken down to reach and engage a wide-ranging audience, including people of color who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.”

“My identity and my activism are intersectional. Activism to me is not only rooted in climate work, but also social justice and youth leadership. As a young black woman who is also an immigrant I didn’t have much representation growing up in Maine. My life’s work is to continue to make this a sustainable and just world to live in, which has more to do with humanity than activism.”

“In recent years youth-led organizations have really taken steps to center the voices of people of color, however we still need more people of color in the climate movement because the climate crisis is directly impacting people of color. I am a climate justice activist which means that I advocate for solutions to the climate crisis that factor racial and gender equity into the conversation.”

“My identity informs my work by having such a rich history of where the struggle has been to where it is now. It keeps me motivated to know that I owe it to my ancestors to be empowered and use that to empower others. I see how far we’ve come, knowing that more work is left to do. We have the complete power to stand up and create a world takes care of all of us, not just a world catering to greedy needs of those on top.”

“Young people should not be afraid to get involved. There are people willing to give us the space to make ourselves heard. It’s just a matter of finding those connections. Even if you can’t find the space to use your voice, make it. Force people to notice you.”

“I have the historic resilience of my people to motivate me to push through these struggles in order to defend the next generation from institutional injustice such as environmental racism.”