Eliminating Racism in the So. AZ Climate Change Movement

Website

www.NIPSPeerSupport.org

The Idea

Saving our climate requires greater involvement of front-line, communities of color, including locally here in Southern Arizona (the current poster child for U.S. racism.) Our recent 350.org training posed this challenge to the primarily white activists we had gathered. In response, the National Institute for Peer Support's (NIPS) Climate Project has organized a one-day workshop for August 25 to launch a campaign to eliminate racism in our local movement. NIPS’ multi-racial workshop team will utilize basic tools of peer support developed over two decades of eliminating racism work. Reminding us of the good intentions of all climate activists, the workshop will empower us to tackle the inevitable habits instilled by our racist society in both whites as perpetrators and by people of color as victims of oppression. Requested funds would hire a local activist of color for two months, part-time, to support projects generated by the workshop and seek ongoing funding for the position.

Tucson is "Ground Zero" for climate change, with the greatest temperature increase in the country, and our state symbolizes U.S. racism. We will build on a very successful nine-month peer support pilot project involving many of our climate change leaders.

We will form an Advisory Committee of leaders from our communities of color to hire this activist for two months beginning Sept. 1.

Peer support (telling stories/feelings) reduces racism including ongoing support groups and actions.

Is your project a new idea, or was it initiated after November 2011?: From 350 training

Discussion

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