Dorceta Taylor on the History of Racism in the Environmental Movement

As world leaders gather and debate the global climate crisis in Scotland, COPs and conferences are no longer dominated by white, rich nations. Over the last 30 years, the environmental movement has evolved, shaped by those at the grass roots level — Indigenous peoples, the poor and underprivileged, and children who suffer the worst because of climate change. 

Jonathan Bastian talks with Dorceta Taylor, Professor of Environmental Justice at Yale University and author of “The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection,” about the history and legacy of the environmental movement and how the discourse has shifted since the murder of George Floyd. Taylor shares her remarkable story of growing up poor in the Jamaican countryside and how she become a leading voice in environmental justice.