A Reconciliation Ecologist's Testimony at a People's Hearing

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend two days at a People’s Hearing in Greensboro, North Carolina, organized by a coalition of grassroots organizations whose work is centered on Indigenous, Black, Brown, and other communities that are engaged in the long struggle for environmental justice in the United States of America. The same USA that also saw more than 5 million people turn out for No Kings Day protests in over 2100 cities to protest their authoritarian president this past Saturday.

I did not participate in any No Kings Day protest, in part because I am nervous about attending protests as a brown immigrant myself, but primarily because I’m finding more productive ways to contribute my scholar-activist energy towards the struggle for change by directly engaging with activist and grassroots groups. This includes my collaborations with 7 Directions of Service, the West End Revitalization Association, and the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, all of whom were involved in organizing the People’s Hearing on June 10th and 11th.

The People’s Hearing, a two-day public expression of testimonies, solutions and culture, was a truly regenerative and transformative experience. I got the chance to sit in the company of several hundred environmental justice activists, from all around North Carolina and from other places throughout the US, and listen to the testimony of dozens of people who shared deeply moving stories of the losses they have suffered due to pollution and environmental destruction in their communities, of survival and resilience as families and communities rallied around each other to fight back against injustice, and words of wisdom and profound inspiration as they all talked about how they, rather than sinking into despair, keep the spirit of community alive by engaging in collective organizing and action. For an example, read this powerful testimony from Amy Elkins, Community Health Worker and Co-Founder of NC Field who spoke on exploitation, environmental racism & systemic neglect of latino communities in Eastern North Carolina

Unlike many liberal/progressive political activist groups that tend to focus on the next election cycle, and whose energies wax and wane according to the winds of American politics, people in the environmental justice movement have their eyes on the long-term future, for they have learned the hard way that they cannot rely on the current political system in the US to solve the deep injustice their communities have faced for generations. They know in their bones that the injustice they face is not new, stemming from the actions of the current presidential administration, or the last one, or the 10 others that came before; they understand at a deeper level than most of my academic scholar colleagues can that their struggle is against the entire white supremacist settler colonial state that is the USA and goes back centuries. They are fighting for transformational change that will improve the world not just for their people now, but for everyone in the future, and focusing on the next seven generations is not a cliche but a real source of motivation to keep going.

In between these testimonies from the floor to a diverse panel of veteran activists and scholars who were listening and taking notes, we also heard from elder mothers who have been in this fight for decades, from poets (including North Carolina’s poet laureate) and artists and musicians who brought their creativity to tell the stories of struggle and resilience, highlight deep injustices, and offer comfort, solidarity, and transformative visions through their art.

I was also asked to offer testimony, and part of the last last group to speak from the floor on the second day. Here is what I shared:

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