Environmental justice cannot be achieved without racial justice. At the intersection of these two movements, Black people continue to take charge in spaces and places without needing an invitation, while mainstream environmental justice continues to ignore and exclude the work, expertise, and treatment of Black environmentalists.

This event invites all environmental allies to hear and respond to the cries against racism and social injustices as loudly as we do as the cry to save the environment.

Join in this panel discussion with special guests:

Audrey Peterman - Jamaican author, award-winning park ambassador, explorer and owner/co-founder of Earthwise Productions, Inc., an environmental consulting and publishing firm focused on connecting the public lands system and the American public.
https://www.humansandnature.org/audrey-peterman

Chúk Odenigbo - Franco-Albertan from Calgary, founding director of Ancestral Services with Future Ancestors Services Inc., leading contracts, services and work that center climate justice, climate science, oceans, anti-racism, public health, COVID-19 futures, and language localization.

Dr. Ingrid Waldron - Canadian social scientist, HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Global Peace and Social Justice Program in the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University, and co-Producer of the Netflix film based on the book There's Something in the Water.

Demiesha Dennis, an avid fishing, birding and all-around outdoor enthusiast from Jamaica who currently resides in Toronto and is actively changing the narrative through adventures as @BrownGirlOutdoorWorld on Instagram.

Judy Milay, activist, advocate for inclusivity in the outdoor industry, and founder of @ColourTheTrails, a community group for BIPOC and allies interested in outdoor activities.

This Live & Online presentation is in celebration of Black History Month and part of Toronto Public Library's Our Fragile Planet program series, supported by TD Friends of the Environment (TD FEF).

The Black Like Me - Outdoor Edition is a community space where representation matters. The event visually defines how representation is possible by highlighting various groups' intersectional identities and lived experiences.

Listen to the stories and hear the voices of community activists, filmmakers, adventurers, and everyday people whose work challenges the narrative, writes history and reimagines our relationship with the land, ourselves and each other.

This 1.5-hour program will be recorded and available for replay at the same link.

Questions about online programs? Please email us at programproposals@tpl.ca

Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Please call or email us if you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request an accommodation to participate in this program. Please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. At least three weeks' notice is preferred. Phone 416-393-7099 or email accessibleservices@tpl.ca

The Water is Troubled - Blackness in the Environmental Movement