Earth Day, Every Day- and Make it Intersectional.

MYCO’S EARTH DAY SUMMIT CENTERS VOICES OF THE GLOBAL MAJORITY

Moderator and Founder of MYCO, Oluwakemi Oritsejafor, Panelists Jorge Fontanez, Ngozi Okaro, and Najha Zigbi-Johnson, (Right to left)

By Joymala Hajra and Christian Hopley

In celebration of Earth Day, the NYC collective MYCO, led by Oluwakemi Oritsejafor, hosted a unique three-day summit in Brooklyn. Local climate activists, leaders, artists, and organizers convened seeking to nurture their commitment to combating the climate crisis through intersectionality with global movements.

Our Executive Director Ngozi Okaro was joined by writer, cultural strategist, and educator Najha Zigbi-Johnson and CEO of B. Lab US & Canada Jorge Fontanez on the Climate Intersectional Power panel, where they discussed centering people of color within the movement of environmental action and questioning the relationship between power and environmental justice, social equity, and urban development. 

On the theme of power and environmental justice, Ngozi Okaro described her work with Custom Collaborative, where she amplifies women's voices in their authentic power rather than trying to make them fit into a mold. She says “It is so important to be recognized in your full power- just as you are.” 

Custom Collaborative is a space where intergenerational and international knowledge is honed, heightened, and shared. Its programs encourage women to connect with their consciousness and inspire them to engage their communities toward positive change. “We need to value communities of color and look to them for solutions,” says Okaro. Most large organizations are not receptive to the input of people of color, who are disproportionately affected by climate change. This is compounded by the fact that communities of color are systematically kept out of higher education institutions. Okaro believes their knowledge holds immense value.  

Najha Zigbi-Johnson discussed the intersection of indigeneity and land stewardship. Now more than ever, we need to lean on ancestral knowledge to combat environmental degradation. Indigenous people and their techniques sustain 80% of the world's biodiversity. Zigbi-Johnson deepened our understanding of intersectionality and environmental justice by highlighting black liberation work as food sovereignty work.

In his practice as the CEO of B Lab, Jorge Fontanez strives to assess his social position and strategically redistribute his social capital (power) to those assigned less by unjust social structures. As a leader in corporate sustainability, he explicitly lifts up black and brown femmes as professionals and thought leaders with the skill sets to create solutions toward climate justice. 

Of the many lessons we took away from the Climate Intersectional Power panel at MYCO’s Earth Day Summit, we learned to lean on traditional ways of creating art, fashion, language, and healing as these processes nurture the land. By showing the women who pass through our program that sustainability is not only accessible but is the correct way to engage with fashion, we are building a community prepared to combat the destruction of the environment and lead social change.

With climate change as one of the most pressing issues of our time, we need more vital spaces like the MYCO Earth Day Summit, where ancestral knowledge is amplified and global voices are heard.