is the place for our community to stay informed, inspired, and connected. Each issue contains powerful features and deep dives with voices of Environmental Justice and social justice leaders as well as community members.
Lately, I have spent considerable time researching Maurice Bishop, the former Prime Minister of Grenada and leader of the People’s Revolutionary Government. One quote from Maurice Bishop that resonates most with me is, “Backwardness in the field of information is a fundamental reason for the fact that the international exchange of information is only a one-way process. Basically, a veritable flood of information flows from the major imperialist cities to all corners of the globe, whereas there is a mere trickle in the opposite direction.”
Peace & Riot is our way of unapologetically flowing information in the “opposite direction,” ala Counterstream. We understand that the information regarding Environmental Justice from mainstream media does not center on the stories, voices, and solutions of the people most impacted.
For instance, BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investment firms, has a portfolio that includes real estate, pharmaceuticals, and technology, as well as fossil fuels, petrochemicals, weapons manufacturing, and media. As of January 2024, BlackRock owns about 120.9 million shares of The Walt Disney Company.
This stake gives BlackRock considerable influence over Disney, one of the most
powerful media conglomerates globally. The significance of this relationship is underscored by recent protests by environmental justice advocates from the Gulf South, who opposed BlackRock’s investments in petrochemical industries like Exxon, highlighting the broader impact of BlackRock’s investment strategies.
If Maurice Bishop were still here, I hope he would relate to the voices, spirit, and solutions in this issue of Peace & Riot. We also hope that this issue resonates with you.
Peace & Riot,
Michael McKenzie Executive Director, Counterstream
BREAK SYSTEMS, BREAK BARRIERS
CLARICE FRILOUX
CHRISTA STONEHAM
BREAK SYSTEMS , BREAK BARRIERS
WITH CHRISTA STONEHAM C.E.O. AND PRESIDENT, HOUSTON LAND BANK
WORDS: Michael McKenzie , Executive Director, Counterstream Media
Christa Stoneham and I had the pleasure of meeting at the iconic Eldorado Ballroom in Houston’s Historic Third Ward. This renowned cultural venue has been a cornerstone of the city’s African American history since its establishment in 1939. Founded by Anna and Clarence Dupree, the ballroom was a pioneering platform for Black entertainers during a time of severe segregation. It quickly gained national recognition as a premier music spot, hosting legendary artists like Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Ella Fitzgerald.
The Eldorado Ballroom stands as a testament to the resilience and creativity of the Black community in Houston, Texas. Having lunch with Christa on Emancipation Avenue, in a joint that Ella Fitzgerald once graced, while discussing intersectional topics in environmental justice was nostalgic—like the time when Black folk talked to each other face-to-face minus the phones and modern-day distractions.
It was easy to recognize Christa as she walked into the restaurant on the first floor of the Eldorado Ballroom— partly because her neon yellow shirt was emblazoned in all-caps with the decree, “I AM 5TH WARD.” The message on Christa’s shirt is a reflection of her commitment to the community values she espoused during our conversation.
Christa leads the Houston Land Bank, the largest landbank in the United States. This entity is vital to transforming underutilized properties into valuable
assets for the community. According to Christa, the work of the Houston Landbank is not just about promoting affordable housing solutions and fostering equitable development across Houston—but also about shaping the future of Black and Brown communities in Houston that contend with gentrification, divestment, toxic industries, or blight.
While the landbank’s work and impact are significant, Christa is adamant that more can be done to impact the socio-economic realities of underserved Houstonians by “helping homeowners make more money.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, Black Houstonians experience lower median incomes relative to White and Asian households. Considering this, the transformative work of the Houston Land Bank gives hope for a brighter future for these communities.
It’s worth noting that legendary leaders like former Congressperson Barbara Jordan from Fifth Ward, Houston, set a powerful example of community leadership for Christa. “More is required of public officials than slogans, handshakes, and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future,” said Barbara Jordan. Regarding housing justice in frontline communities in Houston, Texas (and around the United States), people demand accountability to address toxic spaces and prioritize thriving living conditions.
Calvin Owens, plays his trumpet across from the Eldorado Ballroom in 2000. Photographer: James Fraher.
Christa in front of the iconic “Fruits of Fifth Ward” mural in Houston, Texas.
A brownfield site. The Velasco Incinerator site is one of Houston Land Bank’s Brownfield Redevelopment Projects, which aims to transform and create lasting positive impacts for the 2nd Ward and surrounding area.
The system was designed to make sure that Black people could not access wealth-building opportunities...It is absolutely my mission to break systems and break the barriers. “ “
One of the critical tasks of the Houston Landback is converting Brownfields into livable, green space. Brownfields are properties previously developed for industrial or commercial purposes but are now abandoned, underutilized, or idle due to contamination concerns. The presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants complicates these sites’ expansion, redevelopment, or reuse. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are over 450,000 brownfields in the United States alone.
According to the City of Houston website and based on available data from the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program, about 299 brownfield sites were “identified” within Houston. Keyword: identified. I am no betting man, but I would wager that the number of abandoned factories, schools, and gas stations far exceeds 299.
The urgency of the Houston Landbank’s work in transforming brownfields into greenspaces cannot be overstated. These properties pose significant risks to community health and safety due to potential exposure to harmful contaminants like lead, asbestos, petroleum products, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Their presence can lower property values in surrounding areas and contribute to urban blight, making the landbank’s work all the more crucial. When asked how the landbank includes community voice, Christa emphasizes that “transparency and engagement” drive decisions about converting Brownfields to Greenspace. She elaborates on how neighborhood advisory committees rank projects, a process that has been acknowledged and appreciated by several environmental justice leaders in the city. These leaders also understand the urgency of transforming brownfields into greenspaces.
Christa also acknowledges the trust issues that Black and Brown communities have with leaders who promise change. In an interview with Black Real Estate Dialogue, Christa said, “The system was designed to make sure that Black people could not access wealth-building opportunities...in some of the old properties, you can see it [racist ordinances] in the Deed Restrictions.” Similarly, on the No Stingy Energy Podcast, Christa said, “It is absolutely my mission to break systems and break the barriers.” She went on to say, “There was literally someone who understood the power of the pen, which do as well, except I am actually writing systems-change and sustaining it by making sure it’s in policy because I can be in the seat for only so long to make sure the decisions I am making are impacting people for years and generations to come.”
A brownfield site.
Mural reflecting Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Constance Baker Motley, late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ruby Bridges, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Located in Finnigan Park Community Center in Fifth Ward, Houston, TX by artist Anat Ronen.
OFTHE
ART IN THE AGE ANTHROPOCENE
BY HANNAH CHALEW
ARTIST, ACTIVIST, AND EDUCATOR FROM NEW ORLEANS,
LOUISIANA.
We are living in an era of global warming with an uncertain future. My work is specifically rooted in Southern Louisiana, where I live, as a microcosm of our shifting time. It unearths the historical legacies that got us here to help imagine a different path forward.
make work that connects fossil fuel extraction and plastic production to their roots in the white supremacy and capitalism that have fueled the exploitation of people and the landscape from the times of colonization and enslavement. My works draw viewers into an experience that bridges past and present with visions of the future ecosystems that might emerge from our culture’s detritus if we fail to change course.
connect my message with my medium by divesting my work from fossil fuels as much as possible through my material choices, how I power my work, and by not accepting fossil fuel funding. By working this way, I offer
a slower, more intentional paradigm of engaging with our surroundings as an antidote to the short-sighted extractive consumption that has gotten us to this precarious moment.
In art pieces ranging from works on paper to largescale installations, I bring together unlikely materials in combinations that are often beautiful. These works draw viewers in to stay with the art that, on closer inspection, has a deeper burn that implicates them in our collective realities—inviting the viewer to re-examine their place in this greater network. How do the choices we make today and our inaction implicate us in this potential future? My work creates space to imagine what else could be possible now and beyond; it inspires viewers to think about what individual and collective changes are needed for a just transition from fossil fuels and plastic to ensure a livable future for all beings, including our descendants.
I make work that connects fossil fuel extraction and plastic production to their roots in the white supremacy and capitalism that have fueled the exploitation of people and the landscape from the times of colonization and enslavement. “ “
La prairie tremblante, or trembling prairie, is the local term for the floating marshes endemic to Louisiana; marshes that are not anchored to the soil beneath. This sculpture is inspired by this natural adaptation to our watery landscape and imagines what might become of our built world, specifically the petrochemical infrastructure that litters our Southern Louisiana environs when seas rise. This living sculptural drawing has a watering system built into it, the industrial pipes of fossil fuel facilities now act as conduit to nurture the plants in this new ecosystem.
Tremblante
in, over, through Metal, sugarcane, lime, recycled paint, disposable plastic waste, soil, living plants dimensions variable 2019-present
Photo featuring dancer Kaitlin Guerin by CFreedom
This ongoing outdoor installation in my studio courtyard is my vision of what future gardens might look like based on our current societal addiction to fossil fuels and their byproducts. In this work, I’m creating a “garden” combining unlikely materials to help shift the viewer’s perspective both on our role on this planet and on the paradigm of the extractive industries as an inherent part of this landscape.
This drawing examines the effect of the petrochemical industry on the landscape of Southern Louisiana in the present and into the future. The drawing substrate is made from a combination of sugarcane, the staple chattel slavery crop, and shredded plastic, much of which was refined just upriver In Cancer Alley.
Just as the wetlands are decimated by the oil industry, the drawing breaks apart, revealing the welded understructure that doubles as the pipeline infrastructure lying beneath our state and coastline. Even as our coast is eroding and sinking and sea levels are rising, petrochemical companies continue to actively exploit our landscape and poison our communities. This drawing imagines the ecosystems that may emerge from our cultural detritus if we do not hold these companies accountable and demand a different future.
Bottomland Chimera metal, sugarcane,disposable plastic waste, lime, recycled paint, paper made from sugarcane combined with shredded disposable plastic waste (“plasticane”), ink made from brick, copper, goldenrod, fossil fuel pollution, indigo, oak gall, and sheetrock, soil, living plants 90” x 115” x 85” 2023
This installation imagines the hybrid future ecosystems that will emerge out of our current age if we fail to change course. Welded pipe forms connect at loci where aggregate of organic (sugarcane, lime) and synthetic (plastic) matter coalesce into planters for living plants. Plants made from “plasticane” paper (sugarcane and plastic) and painted shades of green sourced from pigments found in my Southern Louisiana landscape (copper, fossil fuel pollution, goldenrod, indigo, oak gall, and sheetrock) emerge and co-mingle with the pipes seeming to have mutated from or been grafted to these industrial forms.
Michael McKenzie , Executive Director, Counterstream Media
The Summer of Heat is an entire season of sustained civil disobedience protests targeting Wall Street and big banks for their role in fueling the climate crisis.
In June, over 200 Environmental Justice leaders and advocates from the Gulf South gathered in NYC to challenge banks and insurers of the toxic petrochemical industries in the Gulf South. They are demanding Wall Street stop financing environmental racism and climate destruction. They paid a visit to the corporate headquarters of BlackRock, Bank of America, KKR, MUFG, and MizuhoWrapping.
They are demanding Wall Street stop financing environmental racism and climate destruction.
Joe and Joy Banner, the founders of The Descendents Project were there to “add our voice to many different people here who are advocating for finance companies and insurance companies to stop the extraction and destruction of communities like ours in Louisiana.”
Insurance companies and banks have been involved with the sacrifice of our people since the days of enslavement. Our communities can no longer bear the burden of poor climate, poor health, poor environment because of the pollutants that they continue to support.
Juan Mancias, Chief, Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas speaking in front of the Chubb Insurance office.
Gulf South Delegates from Texas taking part in
Organizers from Rural Roots, including Ashley Gaignard, traveled from Donaldsonville, Louisiana to “speak out against the banks that are financing industries to take over our communities. We actually speaking to the insurance companies who’s actually insuring the problem in our community. Our community is downsizing in population due to industry coming in.”
Gaignard continued, “We’re here in New York to fight for preservation of our land and stand up for what was right for health and humanity in Donaldsonville, Louisiana and all the surrounding Ascension parishes. We say NO to Shell, to Chevron, to CF Industries, Mitsubishi, Westlake. We say NO to Shintech and Dow Chemical, all surrounding our area. You’re not clean energy. You’re producing methane gas, which is harmful to our community.”
The Gulf South Summer of Heat actions were organized by the Vessel Project of Louisiana and Texas Campaign for the Environment Summer of Heat is organized by Climate Defenders, NY Communities for Change, Stop The Money Pipeline, and Planet over Profit
Manny Rollerson, Founder of the Freeport Haven Project
Roishetta Sibley Ozane (center) of the Louisiana Vessel Project
Climate Conversations of Brazoria County
Dominic Chacon (left, holding sign) of Texas Campaign for the Environment with other Summer of Heat participants.
Freeport Haven Project members.
Gulf South Delegates from Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
TIRED1 #HOUSTONSTRONG 2
OF POEM BY ARIS KIAN
CO-WRITTEN WITH 76 HOUSTONIANS IN RESPONSE TO HURRICANE BERYL
Aris Kian is a Houston enthusiast and student of abolitionists currently serving as a 2023-2025 Houston Poet Laureate.
TIRED 1 OF #HOUSTONSTRONG2
the rain came and I couldn’t do shit about it. 3 streets painted with the brown bayou’s 4 unrelenting 5 flood—water rising even after the rain is gone. 6 concrete wet7 with the resilience 8 we mucked out after the last storm.
the house is not clean and guests still want to visit: 9 shingles10 slung. fences11 fallen. broken branches breaking my heart, trees trembling.12 electrical lines are the city’s broken veins,13 and the water waves on highways.14 my favorite tree was uprooted 15 yet I knew not its name: huracán, mazha,16 fayadan, what languages we grasp to remember the unspeakable—
1 @officialamyfuchs, @christianpperez, @mloops__
2 @lovebuggs.09
3 @preech.write.sang
4 @lucia_urreta_
5 @cheno_beno
6 @esmeldzma
7 @oaisroha
8 @mahachishtey
9 @uc.jae
10 @azariahandersonn
11 @azariahandersonn
12 @annaluuna24
13 @eyesac_saladbar
14 @hougo.luig
15 @andiwasjustlike
16 @_ibrahim_badshah
we are the caretakers of memory:17 this season of loss18 is not easily forgotten, though archives grow weary19 with those washed beneath water. cops brag about 12-hr shifts but they’re just arresting folks in 3rd & 5th ward. 20 the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, 21 the hopeless 22 get unified through a collective struggle, 23 spilling into one another like light upon light. 24 light, what a feeling; 25 the sun shines at random. 26 isn’t it a contradiction? after the storm, the sun comes out to greet us, yet the power is out 27 sweat 28 beads heavy like fallen limbs. 29 he heat takes my breath away and not in a fun way.30 communities31 caged in punishment 32 as centerpointless
centers the point of shenanigans, 34 yawning away our frustration, 35 snailing away as we suffocate. 36
a mother says she is certain her children will die. the car is almost out of gas.37 the predation continues.38 mother nature screams, and the suits and ties stuff money in their ears. 39 space city is screaming 40 too, though our voice is so polluted it’s mistaken for starlight, 41 shadowed under a greed so grand, it could only fit in Texas.
people shouldn’t have to die in this heat for Texas to take it seriously. 42 cities ask, how can this happen every time 43 in Beyoncé’s 44 hometown? but celebrity doesn’t stop corruption. crisis is a cash crop, and capitalism dines on disdained discombobulation.45 from far away, no sound but tachycardia-sized drops of rain filling all the nooks; 46 I love when it rains, but now it also scares me. 47 I want my home to be and feel safe, 48 not simply claim to be the energy capital when they can’t provide it. 49 all my umbrellas were made in China 50 — our state outsources its competency and mines our grief, keeps us powerless, power-less. so, we learn to love the people, not the city. 51 c an’t build a diet off improper planning and a total disregard 52 of our palate for improvement. we find no refuge 53 in Atlantis no matter how often we’re goaded to grow gills.
my Houston: God damn 54 apocalyptic 55 swampstuffed city. You loud, 56 slosh 57 -drunk metropolis I’ve dropped all my prayers on, time and time again. 58 Hopelessness 59 sits stagnant 60 in our ditches, carving craters into the regolith. 61 I won’t complain 62 of the ways we empty ourselves of this anger— since the other side of lawlessness is abandonment.63
we are no longer knocking, but demanding64 answers to this avoidable 65 aftermath. we pool our resources to protect our people 66 from unnecessary67 suffering, from undeserved 68 neglect by a city built on insurmountable lies. 69 we surrender70 to no city but reciprocity,71 find unity in our struggle.72 a people in motion stay in motion, our inertia 73 influenced by organized movement. Houston, you taught me who I love, you hungry son 74 of marsh-hearted homemakers, skyscraping featherwings falling backto earth. we’ve run our course with calamity, have hubris enough to hold it down 75 for each other.
and in the eye’s calm, where chaos finds it sleep, our Houston hearts beat strong, our spirits deep.
76
CONTRIBUTORS
34 @author_jljulian
35 @geekyan_dres
36 @perraxvida
37 @cassquatch95
38 @chiachuks
39 @moontangdaydream
40 @eternal_vernal
41 @duidobi
42 @eh.ste
43 @anfgrf
44 @aleialeialeia
45 @venus_az_a_boi
46 @thepoetmendez
47 @lesork
48 @moxiedemilo
49 @lanubeflotante_
50 @preech.write.sang
51 @annawithhope
52 @_.afea._
53 @quiatian
54 @lojiowo 55 @htxnat
56 @mk_b.html_
57 @mk_b.html_
58 @omeronhiatus
59 @rac.ren.rip
60 @seekinghumanity 61 @arianaeslee 62 @simplyjd
@nicoleeritaa 64 @strssll
65 @dawnjmalone
66 @swuush92
67 @cheno_beno
68 @cheno_beno
69 @lanubeflotante_
70 @the.consecrated.ima
71 @seekinghumanity
72 @hamzaza.a
73 @usewordsbetter
74 @fernsehturmoil
75 @gabrielahtx
76 @m.bfaruqi
TROUBLED WATERS
An excerpt by Mary Annaïse Heglar with an introduction by Shilpi Chhotray
The story of climate change is the story of our collective future
Climate fiction opens our eyes to the intimate realities of climate change, offering us not just facts, but the human experiences behind them. In “Troubled Waters,” one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far, Mary Annaïse Heglar gives us a front-row seat to the emotional and physical toll of climate-induced disasters. As we follow Corinne’s story, we’re transported into the heart of Mississippi’s swelling rivers and rising anxieties—an all-too-real manifestation of a destabilized climate. Through Corinne’s inner turmoil and her struggles with doubt, Heglar challenges us to confront the undeniable link between climate change and the extreme events reshaping our lives. This is why storytelling, and specifically narrative change that centers climate justice, is so vital.
Enjoy this excerpt from Mary Annaïse Heglar’s book below and purchase it here
Chapter 1
Lovely Day
December 19, 2013
Even as she typed the last paragraphs of her final paper for the semester, Corinne couldn’t hear the feverish click-clack of the keyboard under her fingertips or the frantic whispers of the other students. She wasn’t in North Ohio anymore, burrowed away in the basement of the massive library at Oberlin College. She was back in Mississippi two springs ago, listening to that eerie stillness as the Mississippi River swelled out of her banks and onto the roads that connected Port Gibson and Vicksburg, quieting the dull hum of traffic. Then, the River had seeped into playgrounds and backyards, hushing children at play and neighbors at gossip. Eventually, the water rose so high, the birds were too confused to sing, and the River silenced the sky. Corinne had lain in her room with the windows open, wary even of turning on the television lest she further anger the Mississippi. There was nowhere to go and nothing to say.
By the time her waters had receded, the River had washed past every watermark on record, even the one set by the Great Flood of 1927.
Earlier in the semester, Corinne had gotten into a bitter argument with one of her environmental studies professors about the causes of the 2011 Mississippi River flood. He’d insisted that it was simply a natural phenomenon.
“Rivers flood,” he’d said with a wave of his hand. “There’s no reason to think it was global warming.”
Corinne, on the other hand, had insisted that it wasn’t that simple. The 2011 flood was an alleged five-hundredyear flood, and so were the 1993 flood and the 1937 flood. The 1927 flood—the one that had haunted Corinne since elementary school when she first learned about those who’d drowned and the horrors of a river unhinged—still held the record for the most destructive river flood in US history. There wasn’t even a century between any of them.
“How was that ‘natural’?” she’d demanded.
Her professor had stood back, crossed his arms, and told her to prove it. So here she was, two months later, with a browser window littered with tabbed articles about deforestation and wetlands, La Niña, and preversus post industrial rainfall levels. She felt even more strongly that, had the River been left to her own devices, she probably would have flooded in 2011, but not so viciously. If the earth’s temperature had held steady, the rain would have fallen, but not nearly as much. The River may have risen, but the wetlands and the forests would have been able to absorb the water. But as strong as her conviction was, she still wasn’t sure she was being convincing enough for her polemic professor.
Mary Annaïse Heglar is an writer and podcast host whose work focuses on climate change, climate grief, and climate justice. She is based in New Orleans.
Shilpi Chhotray is Co-Founder and President of Counterstream Media.
RIDES SOLIDARITY
Inspired by Freedom Riders of the 1960’s, the purpose of Solidarity Rides is not just to tour frontline communities, but to strategically bring leaders together, in Solidarity to catalyze Environmental Justice.
Photography by Jon Cherry
On July 20, 2024,
was a power-building experience under the theme of healing, convergence, resurgence, and justice.
The name “Rubbertown” refers to an industrial complex in Louisville along the Ohio River. It gets its name from the chemical manufacturing plants lining the area. These plants manufacture tires, synthetic rubber, plastics, resins, and other petrochemical related products.
Solidarity Riders convened at the Food Literacy Project, whose mission is to see young people transforming their communities through food, farming, and the land.
Chickens at the BearFruit and Grow, a black owned food justice organization that creates pathways for food access, land acquisition, and distribution of resources.
Archbishop Marcia Dinkins, the founder of Black Appalachian Coalition is on a mission to build a multi-state campaign that amplifies black voices, dismantles the colonized narrative of Appalachia, and uses story-based strategies and solutions that center the voices and lived experience of Black Appalachians. Archbishop has been a leading voice in the charge to confront petrochemical polluters while uplifting the voices and solutions of Black Appalachians.
Counterstream Media and Black Appalachian Coalition hosted the BLAC Policy Summit in Louisville, Kentucky. During the summit, Counterstream organized its first Solidarity Ride which
See more at counterstream.org
Solidarity Riders learn the art of chicken farming from LeTica, the founder of BearFruit and Grow.
Examining some of the greens grown at the Food Literacy Project.
Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby, President of Simmons College and Pastor of St. Stephens Church in Louisville, Kentucky beseeched to BLAC Policy Summit attendees and Solidarity Riders that “If we don’t organize, we will agonize.”
On the Solidarity Ride, Jericho, a youth urban farmer from the Food Literacy Project details the harms caused by Rubbertown while also underscoring the solutions she and youth farmers are bringing to food insecure communities in Louisville.
CLARICE FRILOUX : AND HER WIFE , AMOTHER, GRANDMOTHER,
OF ACTIVISM LIFETIME
WORDS:
Interview by Alexis Young with additional writing by Mindy Ramaker
Clarice Friloux is many things. She’s an environmental protector, an electric tribal member of the United Houma Nation, and lifelong resident of Grand Bois, Louisiana. But when you sit down and hear her story you’ll learn that her work in environmental protection and activism is folded into her role as a mother, wife, and now grandmother.
Friloux says she was a 28 year-old mom of two when she noticed that materials, labeled as nonhazardous, were being dumped in her community. “Parents were talking about how their kids were being sick and the smells that were coming from an awful waste site a quarter of a mile from my house.”
So Friloux and her community sprang to action. She and 300 other residents from her area filed single-file lawsuits to stop hazardous waste dumping. “We had to wait six months before our case could be heard in the courts of the future parish. The litigation lasted for six years,” she recalls.
“Offshore drilling was allowed to be disposed of in our community as long as it said ‘offshore drilling.’ And it’s called the RCRA law that allows them to bring hazardous material into a non-hazardous facility. And you know, you don’t know what’s in it. It could be hydrogen sulfide, arsenic, you name it, it’s there. It’s just all the byproducts of the oil and gas industry. So at any time, this community could have been gassed to death.”
Though residents eventually won a settlement, Friloux says it wasn’t even enough to cover two months worth of electricity bills.
It’s heartbreak, victories. Heartbreak, victories. You’re going to get worn out. Take some time for yourself.
That was 30 years ago. And Friloux hasn’t given up on the fight. Years of phone calls, conferences and meetings in Baton Rouge, Friloux truly feels that her work as a protector is what she was born to do. But she also says she can’t ignore the things that she’s missed— whether that was extra time with her family or extra care for herself. Either way she knows she won’t be getting it back. That’s why Friloux is adamant about self-care and necessary periods of rest and restoration in the environmental justice space.
“The environmental fight, it’s tiresome. It’s long. It doesn’t end. It’s not a nine-to-fiver. If I had to do one thing over again, it would be setting some time aside for Clarice and not feel like I was going to change the world overnight, not feel that tomorrow is going to be a whole bunch better, because I stayed up all night trying to figure this thing out.”
“I remember my daughter saying that she wanted to have a job just like mine. First I thought it was cute. Then I realized, no, it’s not. She said her mom stays on the phone all the time.” That’s when Clarice says she, “realized I missed something. I can’t get that back.”
After a lifetime of activism, Clarice’s advice to the current and next generation of environmental justice advocates is, “It’s heartbreak, victories. Heartbreak, victories. You’re going to get worn out. Take some time for yourself.”
Clarice at the Grand Bois Healing House: a replica of her greatgrandmother Celestine Verdin’s house, where the Indigenous wisdom of the past informs and inspires modern adaptations
Heirlooms, which have been carefully selected by our ancestors throughout thousands of years of research and imagination, form one of the last strongholds of resistance to the privatization of our life source: the seed. These seeds carry the DNA of our survival against a violent background that is seen across the hills and valleys through settlement and chemical input expansions. Heirloom seeds also tell us stories, connect us to our ancestral roots, remind us of meals our families once made at special times of the year.
The Palestine Heirloom Seed Library (PHSL) is an attempt to recover these ancient seeds and their stories and put them back into people’s hands. The PHSL is an interactive art and agriculture project that aims to provide a conversation for people to exchange seeds and knowledge, and to tell the stories of food and agriculture that may have been buried away and waiting to sprout like a seed. It is also a place where visitors may feel inspired by the seed as a subversive rebel, of and for the people, traveling across borders and checkpoints to defy the violence of the landscape while reclaiming life and presence.
by Vivien Sansour, the PHSL and its Traveling Kitchen project seek to preserve and promote heritage and threatened seed varieties, traditional Palestinian farming practices, and the cultural stories and identities associated with them. Based in the village of Battir, a UNESCO World Heritage site outside Bethlehem, the PHSL also serves as a space for collaborations with artists, poets, writers, journalists, and other members to showcase and promote their talents and work. Working closely with farmers, Sansour has identified key seed varieties and food crops that are threatened with extinction and would provide the best opportunities to inspire local farmers and community members to actively preserve their bioculture and recuperate their local landscape. The PHSL is part of the global conversation about biocultural heritage. Its Traveling Kitchen is a mobile venue for social engagement in different communities, promoting cultural preservation through food choices.
Part of the Fertile Crescent, Palestine has been considered one of the world’s centers of diversity, particularly for wheat and barley. This biodiversity, which has kept us alive for millennia, is being threatened by policies that target farmers and force them to give up their heirloom seeds and adopt new varieties.
Like most farmers around the world, Palestinian farmers are facing the dangers of agribusiness, corporate seed, land dominance along with political violence. But many of these farmers are the heroes who have been safeguarding these precious seeds and the knowledge these seeds carry. Palestinian heirloom seed varieties are under threat; many have gone extinct. These seeds that have been passed down to us over the centuries carry in their genes the stories and the spirits of the Palestinian indigenous ancestors. Aside from their cultural significance, these seeds carry options for our future survival as we face climate change and the erosion of agrobiodiversity worldwide. As such, it is urgent that we save and propagate them.
Founded
Excerpted from the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library.
First harvest of abu samara (wheat).
Vivien Sansour
As of September 2024, the World Heritage Site where the PHSL is based faces imminent threat from planned construction for the Nahal Heletz settlement—a new illegal 148-acre settlement that would shrink Palestinian land even further. Efforts to establish settlements in the West Bank led by Bezalel Smotrich, the country’s far-right finance minister, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission. The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now views the plans as an attack on an area “renowned for its ancient terraces and sophisticated irrigation systems, evidence of thousands of years of human activity.”
IS A
CLEAN WATER FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT
WORDS:
Michael McKenzie , Executive Director, Counterstream Media
With Weyessa ‘Ace’ McAlister
Weyessa and I met in D.C. at Howard University for a convening hosted by the Black in the Environment organization. I gave a speech on intersectionality entitled “I see you.” Weyessa approached me and expressed how my words resonated with him. We immediately struck up a conversation. I learned that Weyessa’s journey is filled with heartache, resilience and triumph. His story would make for a tremendous feature-length film on the art of Cognitive Reframing as his life reflects what psychology calls Post-Traumatic Growth or Motivational Resilience. As Weyessa and I conversed, he told me about the many environmental solutions he champions— particularly around water justice and equality.
Born in rural Ethiopia, Weyessa’s father and brother died from contaminated water when he was a youth. This unfortunate experience led to Weyesa being orphaned and later adopted by Americans. Rural communities in Ethiopia such as the one Weyessa calls home, face significant challenges regarding water quality, particularly concerning bacterial contamination. Access to safe drinking water is a critical issue, with many communities relying on unimproved sources that are highly susceptible to contamination. The presence of bacteria like fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli (E.
coli) poses serious health risks, especially for vulnerable populations such as children under five years of age — children like young Weyessa.
The Kalte River, a vital water source for many residents in Sodo, Wolaita, is severely contaminated with total heterotrophic bacteria and coliforms exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for potable water. Common bacterial pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella have been isolated from river samples, indicating significant public health risks associated with using this water for drinking or irrigation.
And yet, Weyessa embraces the challenge of providing clean water in rural Ethiopia.
While providing water solutions in the Global South, Weyessa also advances clean water solutions in the U.S. South (yes, D.C. is below the Mason Dixon line) as the D.C. Director of Community Conservation for Potomac Conservancy. In this role, Weyessa organizes and empowers D.C. Metro residents to take care of the Potomac River. The Potomac River is a significant source of drinking water for millions of people in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The drinking water
treatment process begins with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Washington Aqueduct, which collects water from the Potomac River at locations such as Great Falls and Little Falls. This water is then treated at two main treatment plants to ensure it meets federal drinking water standards.
Months after meeting Weyessa in D.C., we finally reconnected:
Did the death of your father and brother from contaminated water inspire Bridge H2OPE?
Absolutely. That is the number one reason that motivated me to give back. I need to pass on that blessing to others [in Ethiopia] who do not have opportunities. That’s why I look back at people in my country , knowing that access to clean water is the biggest challenge.
What do you remember most about your upbringing in Ethiopia?
I remember my grandfather, who had played a huge role in my life—the most generous human being you’ll ever encounter. His hospitality, generosity, and all that. But there are other people just like that, too. They were very generous, regardless of their status, regardless of how poor they were in the community. It’s something that I haven’t seen anywhere else.
When did you get started with Bridge H2OPE?
I was a junior in high school when I felt like I needed to do something for my people back home. I spoke with my uncle. And he said, water is still the number one cause of death. He said we should do something about that. And I did.
You set up a GoFundMe page and raised funds to purchase portable water filters. Then you returned to Ethiopia to distribute the filters and show the community how they worked. What did it feel like to go back to Ethiopia after having left due to the
death of your father and brother?
It was quite an emotional moment for me because people were dying, and they were really sick of traveling for hours just to get to a clean water source.
After realizing that the portable water filters would eventually break, you and Bridge H2ope began constructing water wells in rural Ethiopian communities. Where did Bridge H2ope build its first water well? We built the first water well in Sodo, Wolaita, Ethiopia, a village in the southern region. When I went back to see this water project, it was quite an emotional moment for me to know that [my people] are enjoying access to clean water for the very first time. [That experience] helped me open my eyes and see [there is] more I can do.
Tell me about your work with the Potomac Conservancy in D.C..
My job is safeguarding the Potomac River and connecting people to this national treasure. I oversee Community Conservation, one of the three core programs they have in place. Our mission is to connect and empower communities to take action for our Hometown River [in D.C.]. I host riverside clean-up and community clean-up events. I also work with BIPOC-led organizations and provide them with opportunities to expose [these organizations], collaborate, and connect to the outdoors and the Potomac River. Wayessa also plays an instrumental role in educating the community on the threats facing the Potomac River such as pollution and contamination caused by man.
What can local or federal governments do to ensure clean water for all?
The local and Federal governments need to ensure the right infrastructures are in place and that the right bills are passed to make clean water a fundamental human right, and help us return swimmable and fishable Potomac.
First project visit in Wolaita Sodo (2021).
On the Potomac river collecting trash with other volunteers using kayaks.
A water well completion ceremony in the southern region of Ethiopia. Students came and enjoyed clean water after school. Image courtesy of Bridge H2OPE and Drop of Water.
Book: Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility
Author: Dorceta E. Taylor
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Picked by: Patrice Simms, Co-Founder and Strategic Advisor at Counterstream
“This might be a pretty dense read, but Dr. Dorceta Taylor provides a guided tour of how racism, housing policy, greed, and industrial development have collided to create racialized sacrifice zones that poison entire communities and perpetuate injustice. This dynamic is at the heart of why I do what do.”
Book: How Beautiful We Were
Author: Imbolo Mbu
Picked by: Bakeyah Nelson, Founder, Community Health Collaborative Consulting, LLC and Advisor at Counterstream Media
“This book is a vivid illustration of the complexities in confronting the false promise and peril of big oil.”
Book: Revolutionary Hillbilly
Author: Hy Thurman
Picked by: Michael McKenzie, Executive Director at Counterstream Media
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Account: @queerbrownvegan
“‘Revolutionary Hillbilly’ is a multifaceted work by Hy Thurman that serves as a history book, an organizer’s notebook, and an autobiography. The narrative focuses on themes of unity against poverty and racism, highlighting the importance of coalition-building among marginalized communities. Thurman, a self-identified hillbilly and revolutionary organizer, co-founded the Young Patriots Organization in the 1960s. This organization aimed to unite poor white communities with marginalized groups, notably the Illinois Black Panther Party and the Young Lords Organization. Thurman’s educational journey began in Tennessee’s fields and continued on the streets of Chicago, where he developed a profound commitment to social justice.”
Picked by: Lance Blair, Sr. Benefits & Employee Engagement Manager at Liquid Death and Advisor at Counterstream Media
“Isaias Hernandez (@queerbrownvegan) is an environmentalist and creative entrepreneur who comes out with badass content aimed at informing and educating BIPOC & marginalized folks who may not see themselves as a target audience for environmental causes. From exploring sustainable jobs to diving into science and politics, Isaias breaks down challenging subjects in a way that everyone can understand so they also have a seat at the discussion table.”
Podcast: Still Processing
Picked by: Shilpi Chhotray, Co-Founder and President of Counterstream Media
“Still Processing is my go-to podcast for thoughtful cultural reflection. Hosted by Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham, their conversations strike the perfect balance between personal stories and deep analysis on pop culture, race, and politics. Their approach has been a huge inspiration for me in producing the People over Plastic podcast, encouraging our team to explore nuanced, challenging topics with the same depth and empathy.”
Movie: Evil Does Not Exist
Directed by: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Picked by: Mindy Ramaker, Head of Creative at Counterstream Media
“‘Evil Does Not Exist is a moving and poetic environmental justice thriller. love how this movie captures the serene beauty of rural life in a Japanese village and showcases community strength in the face of capitalist interests. Although fictional, it rings with truth.”
Documentary: To Calm the Pig Inside
Director: Joanna Vasquez Arong
Picked By: Christine Ahanotu, Senior Creative Producer at Warner Brothers Discover and Advisor at Counterstream Media
“A beautiful interweaving of memory, myth and reality, ‘To Calm The Pig Inside’ is a short film that highlights the destruction left by typhoons in the Philippines and how people there cope with the trauma.”
Song: My People Artist: Erykah Badu
Picked
“The song talks to the literal elements that frontline communities are experiencing in more frequent and severe ways. And it’s a battle cry to tell the community to keep fighting and that love will bring us to a better place. It highlights that forward movement is the only way to see a better future. It captures the essence of what environmental justice means.”
by: Abre’ Conner, Director Environmental and Climate Justice at NAACP and Advisor at Counterstream
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