Climate Fear, hate will not divide us
activists
Aminta Kilawan-Narine (left) and Annetta Seecharran.
Caribbean Life, February 21-27, 2020 11
mate activist from India.
Failing to showcase and highlight the
contributions, ideas, and actions of these
activists from developing countries hurts
us all. It actively crops these voices out
and reduces the chances that their worthy
ideas will help shape policies and the
world.
Often those ideas are ingenious, born
of necessity and creativity. This is something
I saw firsthand while growing up in
rural Kenya in a town with no electricity
or Internet. People in these regions innovate
every day, but their ideas and ways of
addressing challenges are rarely featured
– and not on a global scale. This should
change.
Further, rendering these activists invisible
potentially denies them the chance of
catching the eye of and benefiting from
funding agencies that can finance their
ideas and amplify their contributions.
It perpetuates the problem by allowing
groups with more visibility and funding
in the first place to continue to grow
through support.
Highlighting activists of color is good
for everyone. Convincingly, a growing body
of evidence shows that when minorities
and underrepresented voices are included,
and their voices and actions displayed,
including in science, everyone benefits.
It makes our world stronger. It also
sends a message to other activists and
aspiring young people that they, too, can
be the voice on issues of our day.
In contrast, by failing to recognize all
activists, we perpetuate the narrative that
only certain people can achieve greatness.
Only certain people can be activists. Yet,
this is not true. Even with the lack of representation,
we have examples of people of
color who have broken glass ceilings.
The Late Nobel Prize winner, Wangaari
Maathai, for example, was an environment
activist whose work continues to inspire
many people-young and old. Imagine how
much more persons of color may be able
to achieve if they have more recognition
and support.
In the end, we all must make an effort
to ensure that diversity and inclusion happens.
Small actions like calling out these
injustices as they happen would go a long
way. If you see something—say something.
We cannot stand by the perimeter and
expect a just and equal world to happen.
Evermore, we must continue to be creative
and find other avenues to highlight activists
of color and those from marginalized
groups. We all have a stake in mitigating
climate change.
Dr. Esther Ngumbi is an Assistant Professor
at the Entomology Department,
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
She is a Senior Food security fellow
with the Aspen Institute and has written
opinion pieces for various outlets including
NPR, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Aljazeera
and New York
Continued from Page 10
and to take aim at New York City’s policies.
Since ICE’s statements about the
Fuertes tragedy, lawmakers in Arizona
and Oklahoma have introduced legislation
that would prohibit municipalities
from adopting sanctuary policies.
This is deeply concerning.
It’s clear that President Trump’s
reckless deportation machine is determined
to disseminate our community
and our families.
We stand by New York City’s strong
local laws that ensure confidentiality
and due process, build community
trust, and keep our families and communities
safe.
As New Yorkers, we all have immigrant
stories. We cannot let the federal
government’s exploitation of this
tragedy question our commitment to
our values. We will not let fear and
hate divide us.
Aminta Kilawan-Narine is a legislative
attorney, community organizer in
Queens, New York, and a co-founder
of Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive
Hindus.
Annetta Seecharran is the executive
director of Chhaya CDC, the former
Executive Director South Asian Youth
Action, and a long-serving board
member of the New York Immigration
Coalition.
Continued from Page 10
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