samdalefox's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I was excited to read this as it was bringing together my intersectional feminism and climate activism reading, unfortunately the book didn't deliver. The title reads "The intersectional enviornmentalist: How to dismantle systems of oppression to protect people and planet." It didn't entirely live up to this claim. This is not a problem isolated to this book. I have found the vast majority of modern left wing literature suffers from the same affliction. Of the three pillars "Educate, agitate, organise!" Most books will educate (to varying degrees), some will agitate, and almost none give practical direction for organisation which is a large part of the 'how to dismantle systems'. This is where we are failing as a movement.
Thomas does an admirable job at explaining the movement and giving the history leading up to the coining of the term 'intersectional environmentalist (IE)'. For people who have read Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Angela Davis, this is nothing new and you can skip this section. Overall the text is entry level and very US-centric, with almost no data given on other countries; which is surprising and infuriating given the author's awareness of the disparities affecting the the Global South. Similarly many of the essays from guest authors/activists are repetitions of the same lived experience and manifesto.
So the education part was good, albeit basic. The agitate part was ok, but repetitive, maybe it will instill more enthusiasm in people new to the topic. The organise part of activism is best served by Chapter 5 which was very interesting as it gave actual examples of the intersection of climate (in)justice and racism from different parts of the world, plus the pledges and end of chapter discussion questions. These are useful as prompt questions to groups of activists in what activities they can do (organise) to actually affect change. Besides rehashing the critical need for intersectional thinking, I don't believe this book adds anything further to the activist discourse. In answering 'how to dismantle systems of oppression to protect people and planet", the book answered 'learn history and listen to, and take leadership from BIPOC people'. I agree, this is not new, what I wanted was more leadership in actions to achieve IE justice. I think The Red Deal by the Red Collective achieved that particular goal and I would recommend well-read activitists to read that over The Intersectional Environmentalist.
Exceprt from another reviewer which I agree with:
Thomas does an admirable job at explaining the movement and giving the history leading up to the coining of the term 'intersectional environmentalist (IE)'. For people who have read Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Angela Davis, this is nothing new and you can skip this section. Overall the text is entry level and very US-centric, with almost no data given on other countries; which is surprising and infuriating given the author's awareness of the disparities affecting the the Global South. Similarly many of the essays from guest authors/activists are repetitions of the same lived experience and manifesto.
So the education part was good, albeit basic. The agitate part was ok, but repetitive, maybe it will instill more enthusiasm in people new to the topic. The organise part of activism is best served by Chapter 5 which was very interesting as it gave actual examples of the intersection of climate (in)justice and racism from different parts of the world, plus the pledges and end of chapter discussion questions. These are useful as prompt questions to groups of activists in what activities they can do (organise) to actually affect change. Besides rehashing the critical need for intersectional thinking, I don't believe this book adds anything further to the activist discourse. In answering 'how to dismantle systems of oppression to protect people and planet", the book answered 'learn history and listen to, and take leadership from BIPOC people'. I agree, this is not new, what I wanted was more leadership in actions to achieve IE justice. I think The Red Deal by the Red Collective achieved that particular goal and I would recommend well-read activitists to read that over The Intersectional Environmentalist.
Exceprt from another reviewer which I agree with:
I was really excited to read this book and so I think part of my rating is the let down that it just didn’t deliver. The book was like a love letter to herself and her coining the term IE and the organization with the same name. Most of the quotes in the book are from her and her fellow cofounders, which doesn’t bode well for the amount of research put into the book. There wasn’t much.
meilamison's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
really good introduction / place to start for progressive environmental theory
river_rocket's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Honestly could not have asked for a better book to get me back into the world of activism. Sufficiently detailed but not overwhelming, and well explained concepts with links to external sources of information to develop knowledge further and to get involved with communities. I wish I had read it sooner.
jbeckett22's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
“Social Justice and a green economy can and should coexist.”
Yet another amazing reminder about the importance of intersectionality and the idea that the goals of environmentalism and the goals of social justice are linked.
Think critically about how we address the climate crisis. Just because something is marketed or promotes as “sustainable/green/clean,” does not mean that it comes without fault or without the potential to harm people/nature. Listen to and promote indigenous voices and processes.
Yet another amazing reminder about the importance of intersectionality and the idea that the goals of environmentalism and the goals of social justice are linked.
Think critically about how we address the climate crisis. Just because something is marketed or promotes as “sustainable/green/clean,” does not mean that it comes without fault or without the potential to harm people/nature. Listen to and promote indigenous voices and processes.