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A review by chicana99
The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
There are some great notes on the current crises in Turtle Island/The USA and on the international stage with this intersectional lens, though everything is skipped over as this is such a wide-scoped book. For example, the writing about the oil industries placed directly beside poc/poorer communities (which my dad can remember) was really eye-opening, as was the writing about the Flint water crisis.
If some of the writers or activists included had a few more thorough stories throughout the book, I feel like this would have made it a much more engaging read though... There are chunks of text (bios of peers, friends, writers and some of their quotes) that are repeated twice within the book in different sections that read like fodder or a poorly made instagram infographic.
That said, the focus on acting from oneselves positionality, at a local and immediate level of direct action is an incredibly powerful prompt. I did like the quote subverting the "If not you, who?" to "If not you, why?" pushing us to act from where we're at, collectively. Intersectionality as a vocabulary in itself is also an exceptionally helpful tool.
If some of the writers or activists included had a few more thorough stories throughout the book, I feel like this would have made it a much more engaging read though... There are chunks of text (bios of peers, friends, writers and some of their quotes) that are repeated twice within the book in different sections that read like fodder or a poorly made instagram infographic.
That said, the focus on acting from oneselves positionality, at a local and immediate level of direct action is an incredibly powerful prompt. I did like the quote subverting the "If not you, who?" to "If not you, why?" pushing us to act from where we're at, collectively. Intersectionality as a vocabulary in itself is also an exceptionally helpful tool.