"A Declaration, Not a Disclaimer" - The Preamble to the Principles of Environmental Justice

Environmental justice is not just about pollution. It's about freedom.

In this episode, Dr. Joseph takes listeners deep into the Preamble to the Principles of Environmental Justice, first articulated at the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. But this is not just a technical introduction. Dr. Joseph describes how the preamble is a bold declaration of resistance, connection, and liberation. This episode unpacks how environmental justice emerged as a global movement rooted in the lived experiences of peoples of color facing centuries of colonization, oppression, land theft, and environmental destruction. Dr. Joseph explores the preamble’s insistence on spiritual interdependence with the Earth, the protection of culture and community, and the demand for political, economic, and cultural liberation as essential to survival, not just for the people but for the planet. Dr. Joseph discusses how environmental harm is not accidental, but the direct outcome of systems built on exploitation and extraction, and why environmental justice has always been inseparable from civil rights, self-determination, and global solidarity.

This episode sets the table for everything that follows. The principles begin here - with clarity, urgency, and a refusal to separate environmental protection from human dignity.

Let's get to it!

Resources: 
Principles of Environmental Justice


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