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Intersectional Environmentalism

Creating a more socially and environmentally just world is the work of our time.

 

We are committed to protecting people and the planet and contributing to long-lasting cultural shifts where All of our Relations experience healing of the past, opportunity to thrive in the present, and great hope and dreams for the future.

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Sunshine Community Compost is committed to working against and dismantling systemic racism and oppression and knows that sustained daily actions are the pathway to re-designing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture no longer confined by white supremacy. We want to be part of the re-creation process for a different story of America. It is a long road ahead, and overcoming inter-generational betrayal and mistrust will take repeated intentional actions of repair, acknowledgment, personal responsibility, time, patience, interpersonal skills, community-building skills, and wisdom. 

The team at Sunshine Community Compost understands that systemic racism is deeply rooted in the American culture and reaches into every sector, system, and structure, and has resulted in extended pain, suffering, and death for generations of Black people, people of color and indigenous people.  

 

Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion are integral to fulfilling our mission and require transformation at the individual, organizational, and community level with sustained investment of present-moment attention, planning, resources, action, and assessment. To that end, our organization continues to evolve our Equity Guidance and Development Plan.

We align with and continue to use as guidance the 17 original principles of environmental justice that arose out of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held on October 24-27, 1991, in Washington DC. We also strive to develop our work and style in alignment with the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing that arose out of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ), Jemez, New Mexico, Dec. 1996. 

We understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts must:

  • Be lived through sustained action and a clear organizational guidance system with accountable, measurable objectives and milestones that enable us to account for progress and areas for improvement (see Equity Guidance and Development Plan).

  • Require us to create education and action opportunities within and outside of our organization that are anti-racist, that work against inequity and systemic racism, and crimes of hate against Black people, people of color, indigenous people and all people who are subjected to discrimination in the forms of racism, sexism, heterosexism (homophobia), ageism, ableism, classism, xenophobia, religious prejudice and other forms of oppression.

  • Affirm that Black Lives Matter, and acknowledge the present-day damage and intergenerational trauma that has occurred for millions of Americans from centuries of oppression and the legacy of slavery and genocide in the U.S.

  • Require us to stay fully present and self-reflective in our responsibility for and awareness of conscious or unconscious benefit and bias from the systems of white supremacy and oppression that exist and our integral role in deconstructing these systems and structures to create a more equitable, vibrant, regenerative, diverse and peaceful world.

We accept the path of continual learning that a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion requires. We understand that we will make mistakes and that short term set-backs may happen, but that they are the set-up for long term growth and change. We will move forward, review, and assess our practices and progress and do our best to improve as we learn. We intend to share with our board, volunteers, and community as we evolve. 

Social Composting

Intersectional Environmentalism

“Intersectional environmentalism [is] the type of environmentalism where both people and the planet are considered, so both social and environmental justice are considered, and [they're] talked about in the same conversation." - Leah Thomas 

Social Composting

Our mission is about composting. At its heart, the act of composting is about personal and collective transformation and translates into a form of social composting.

We can learn from and mirror the natural processes of composting in our social and environmental justice work. Just like systems and structures of oppression that must be transformed, composting takes the remnant of that which we can no longer use and that which does not serve us - breaks it down into component parts and then reassembles it all into something that is life-sustaining, regenerative, and contributes to the future health of people and the planet. Active participation in and responsibility for transformative processes - whether it is food scraps or racism - can grow new systems, new structures, sustain new life, create abundance, vibrancy, and a bright and hopeful future for all Beings. 

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