Example: Lawrence activist Mattie Bell’s environmental advocacy centers both the planet and people
When Mattie Bell advocates for a thriving environment, they simultaneously advocate for human rights. This fervent passion for social justice began at a young age.
“I don’t remember a time that I wasn’t aware of it. I remember being like 7 years old and arguing with my grandpa on whether climate change was real or not,” Bell said. “I believe social justice is an aspect of climate change because climate change exacerbates all social justice issues.”
Factors such as race and class are directly related to environmentalism, they said.
“One example in the history of the U.S. is that Black and Brown communities have been redlined into certain neighborhoods, and those neighborhoods have been either selected as where industrial infrastructure will go, like factories and stuff like that, or highways will be built through them,” Bell said.