Nathaniel Clark – A&E Editor

nuc5002@psu.edu

Shortly before her Speaker Series speech, I had the opportunity to interview 24-year-old climate activist and Black Girl Environmentalist founder Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru. Said interview took place in Penn State Behrend’s Logan House.

Q: In many publications, you are defined as an “Environmental Justice Warrior,” how do you define this position in your own terms?

A: Yeah, I would say so though that I’ve never called myself an environmental justice warrior, but I think a lot of other people have. I would perhaps call myself an environmental justice scholar, activist or advocate because I am one. I am a huge advocate of the principles of environmental justice, which asserts that all people deserve access to the environmental decision making process, especially those folks that are least represented and most marginalized by the climate crisis and environmental degradation at large. And I advocate for that and perhaps a warrior in that regard, because I think that the climate crisis is the biggest threat of all time. And in order for us to truly address it within the time frame necessary to really disrupt some of the most awful potential impacts, everyone needs to be involved because the diversity of thought and discipline is really helpful for having the most robust solutions put forward.

Q: When I was researching for this interview, I noted in your interview with Axios you stated that talking about the climate world doesn’t have to all be doom. What do you see with the positive impacts that have come from the environmentalist community and also Black Girl Environmentalist?

A: Yeah, playing off that interview and kind of us talking about climate doomerism, I think something that’s really incredible that’s happening is that there’s a huge narrative shift happening in the environmental space. I think for so long people have associated environmentalism and the climate crisis with gloom and doom and apocalyptic themes and narratives. And there is truth in that, obviously. However, I would argue that it’s not very helpful and galvanizes as many people as possible. And it often leads to climate nihilism, where people are like, this issue is too big for me to get involved in and it’s too big to solve, so why even try? And the thing is, if you ask any climate scientist out there or ask any climate activist out there, front line community members, no one’s going to say, let’s give up. Science doesn’t back that. In fact, the science right now is telling us that we have this 10-11 year window to really put forth robust climate policies to curb some of the worst potential impacts. So it’s not grounded in fact. 

And I think what’s amazing right now is that there are so many people in the environmental community that are in the face of that narrative saying, actually, you can do this work and be grounded in optimism. And I think that tradition is one that has been carried in so many different social movements. People we have things to look forward to in life. I think when we ground our understanding of climate work as being work grounded in love for our communities, ourselves and our holistic ecosystems, there’s so much joy and optimism that can come from that. And I would argue that that’s so much more sustainable than trying to fear people to act.

Q: With the desire to make the climate movement more accessible and relevant, you crafted the Black Girl Environmentalist community. What do you feel has been this group’s largest impact since its inception?

A: That’s a really good question. I would say I’m biased because we just had our last event this past Sunday. I’d say being able to consistently convene groups of people around just being black women or black femmes in the environmental space has been really, really amazing. I grew up thinking I was the only one. I thought, you know, I was in my environmental classes and organizing spaces and I was oftentimes the youngest one, oftentimes the only person of color. And I would feel really alone. What’s been a really beautiful eye opening experience for me with this community and facilitating and cultivating spaces. More and more people have been showing up, and more and more people have been excited. And at the end of all of our events, people always approach me and the other BGE members and they say this space means the world for them because now they see the possibility of growing their climate community. And that always makes me smile because climate work is really difficult. It’s really hard, but it’s all worth it when you get to do it with people that understand where you’re coming from, are grounded in the same truth, same motivations. And I’d say that the biggest impact so far has been helping to cultivate that space and making people feel seen.

Q: BGE’s main goal is to create opportunities for black women, girls, and non-binary individuals, through programming, educational resources, and mentorship. Do you just ever plan on involving those resources into schools or communities and spreading them outwards?

A: For sure. I think in a lot of ways we’re in startup mode. We just launched our nine hubs in nine cities and one of the cities is actually in the UK. Right now we’re figuring out what works, what doesn’t work, having monthly events with our hubs, and really making sure that those folks have a place-based relationship not only with the BGE but with their communities at large. A big priority this year is to make sure that each hub has a community volunteer aspect to be able to work with, let’s say, a boys and girls club in the area, or do some sort of intergenerational gardening program. We’ve had a ton of youth programs and actually universities and schools reach out and, you know, at the moment we’re trying to figure out what capacity could look like in the future. But that’s definitely something that we’re working towards.

Q: You along with seven additional climate activists joined Billie Eilish on the Jan. 2023 Vogue cover and also the Overheated event. How was that experience? With this partnership, do you hope to work with these fellow activists on future projects?

A: Ithink it was really funny because. Like most of us already knew each other and are good friends. The youth climate space is very small. Just throughout March, I’ve kind of been hopping around many times with those same people and we always talk about how we wish it was a bigger space and I think it’s getting there slowly but surely. So to answer that last question, yes, of course, like so many of those people are my dear friends, Isaias Hernandez, Nalleli Cobo, Quannah Chasinghorse, like these are folks that I not only look up to in regards to their advocacy, but I’m really thankful to have a relationship with. And I think even being able to engage on something like such a huge platform like that, it was the atmosphere I think was really more accessible than I thought it would be because, you know, the cover of Vogue just seems kind of a crazy situation to be in. And it definitely was and is. But I think because we all just love each other and support each other, it’s been great. In regards to future things with Vogue and Billie, I hope so. You know, I’ve had the chance of working with Billie and her mom and their team before, before Overheated and stuff like that. Overheated was an event in the UK last May and June, so there were several opportunities for us to collaborate. And [the Vogue cover] was just like a huge surprise and a huge blessing. So I have a lot of love for her, her mom and the team, and they’re good people that really care about environmentalism and climate issues. And Billie’s mom, Maggie, has a nonprofit called Support and Feed. And actually Black Girl Environmentalist is going to be announcing a really fun partnership with them very, very soon, like in the next month or so. So even outside of that, there’s been iterations of partnerships that have come just from the relationships you build, getting to be passionate with people just on that human level.

Q: For my final question, what do you think is the best option for college students to get involved and support environmentalism?

A: Yeah, I mean, I feel like there’s always an environmental group on campus. And if you feel like there are other things that aren’t being addressed, like make your own club like I did. Also I’d say don’t be afraid to take an untraditional route. Like for me, when I got on campus my freshman year of college, I immediately knew that I wanted to join student government because I knew that certain positions in student government would give me access to university administration. I would also have a direct ear to the decision makers that maybe in other organizations I wouldn’t have institutional access to, if that makes sense. So that’s how I did a lot of my environmental work. But kind of in a similar vein of like using those institutions of trust, like it was also easier to bring in narratives of grassroots movements happening on campus through those vessels. And because people trusted student government leaders, it was easier to funnel and create more opportunities for folks to come in. And I had a lot of fun doing that. So I would say get creative, start a new club and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I think students hold so much power. You know, these universities exist because they’re serving the next generation of thought leaders. And this is such a perfect landscape to really question things and cultivate better environments. And hopefully that practicing leads to creating better worlds outside of the ecosystems of a university.

I would like to thank Wanjiku Gatheru for the opportunity to interview her. Additionally, I would also like to thank Robb Frederick for assisting me in setting up this interview.