Environmental Justice
“ Land isn’t just about land; land is also about political and economic power, and when you really, really understand that, you better believe there will be some resistance to allow certain groups to have that.”
The focus on land conservation in America’s National Parks devalues urban environments. National parks were created, in part, as an escape from an urban environment that was seen as dirty and full of poverty and people of color. David Schlosberg, writes “Activists and academics alike in the movement criticize the mainstream environmental movement for ignoring and devaluing the poor and people of color by devaluing the environment they live in. The major groups in the United States, the argument goes, are much more interested in wilderness or the great outside than in urban environmental issues because they value one understanding of “environment” over another. This is a form of disrespect.” The prioritization of National Parks reinforces the notion that urban environments are inherently inferior to natural environments. In the United States, there are more than 73 million people, including 5 million children, who do not have access to a park within a 10 minute walk of where they live.
America’s National parks were created to “preserve nature for future generations, reserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.” This is not the reality. The fact that the majority of National Park’s 300 million visitors annually are white highlights a larger issue: parks in the US have an equity problem. It is not surprising that only 20 percent of U.S. National Park visitors are people of color, despite the fact that they make up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population. The environmental movement, and its amenities, continue to be utilized by the same economic and racial classes as they were a century ago. Take for example Saguaro National Park, in Tucson, Arizona. This park receives roughly 650,000 annual visitors, yet less than 2 percent self-identify as Hispanic, despite 44% of the local population identifying as Latino or Hispanic. Environmental justice is the idea that everyone should have access to a clean and healthy environment. Environmental justice includes access to parks. Access to nature in urban environments is associated with increased physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Until all Americans have access to parks, investment in the operation and conservation of national parks misaligns with environmental justice.
Carolyn Finney, a cultural geographer and writer of the book, “Black Faces, White Spaces,” explores how African Americans have been systematically left out of the mainstream environmental and conservation movements. She writes:
“We have collectively come to understand/see/envision the environmental debate as shaped and inhabited primarily by white people. And our ability to imagine others is colored by the narratives, images, and meanings we’ve come to hold as truths in relation to the environment…In the case of race and the environment, it’s not just who we imagine has something valuable to say. These assumptions, beliefs, and perceptions are at the very foundation of our environmental thinking, how we define the ‘environment,’ and how we think of ourselves in relationship with the environment. Who do we see? What do we see?”
The conservation and environmental movement illustrates the racism embedded in the movement. To learn from this, it is imperative that the climate and environmental movement today recognize the consciousness that created America’s National Parks, and prioritize the voices and leadership of people of color.