Taproot Earth

The forces MLK dedicated his life to resisting — racialized capitalism, systemic exploitation, and militarism — are the root causes of the climate crisis we resist every day. Honoring Dr. King’s legacy means moving beyond shallow quotes and reactionary platitudes. To carry forward his work, we have to engage with the radical political analysis that guided his fight for justice. MLK understood that the struggle for civil rights was inseparable from economic justice, anti-imperialism, and global solidarity. And he didn’t walk his path alone. He organized alongside Southern Black women, queer revolutionaries, and radical thinkers (Ella Baker, Dorothy Cotton, Jo Ann Robinson, Diane Nash, and Bayard Rustin and more) whose work birthed the movements we inherit today: powerful, community-rooted legacies of resistance that confronted state violence, capitalist exploitation, and imperialist war. As we employ his memory in our struggle toward climate justice and the Liberation Horizon, we invite you to remember the fullness of Dr. King's work — honoring not just his dream, but his demands. #MLKDay #MLK #RadicalMLK

????????? Last week, nearly 100 leaders from the Gulf South and Appalachia gathered for the first-ever Gulf South to Appalachia Governance Assembly! Converging in the heart of Appaalchia — rooting in the shared legacies of our regional resistance — we convened to: ?? Reground in our regional priorities ?? Develop and affirm our formation's governance structure ?? Develop collective strategies and plan our work for the upcoming year We left with clear next steps on how we plan to grow and sustain our movement AND a renewed commitment to show up for ourselves and our communities as we face the new terrain ahead. We know what we're up against. #WECHOOSENOW to catalyze transformational solidarity and create *actionable* change. Together, our work continues! ?? #GulfSouthtoAppalachia

???Global climate reparations is how we get climate justice??? Spaces like the UNFCCC — which should be the preeminent public space for communities to address the crisis — are being overrun by fossil and financial interests. #COP29 has shown us that those who have perpetrated this crisis will find ways to escape accountability for the devastating impacts of their actions on a planetary scale. This injustice cannot continue. Now is the time to demand a deep and radical transformation of the relationships and power dynamics at the heart of these global negotiations.???? ?? ?? Now is the time for #globalclimatereparations, as called for by the frontlines at the Global Climate Reparations Governance Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.??? ?? ?? Read our full COP29 response?on our website: https://lnkd.in/gMg7YfrU

??The Jubilee year of 2025, a moment that calls for collective movement toward healing, repair, and liberation, is almost here. Will you join us in meeting this moment? ????????We're excited to invite you to apply to participate in the 2025 Global Climate Reparations Frontline Peoples Jubilee Convenings anchored by Taproot Earth. This will take place March 2-8 in Rome, Italy. ??The convenings offer an invitational spirit to frontline community leaders and Catholic Church leaders to engage with each other in dialogue and work in order to heal, repair, and redeem our broken relationships with each other and the Earth. This is the first step in a broader campaign that takes up the Jubilee and advances?#globalclimatereparations?with the Catholic Church. ??DEADLINE TO APPLY IS 11/30! Read the form carefully to learn more and submit your application: https://lnkd.in/eKH36EJT

???? The countdown is on! On Thursday 9/26, Taproot Noire (a formation rooted in Taproot Earth) will host the annual Black Climate Leadership Summit at?#ClimateWeekNYC?with our partners?Ubuntu Climate Initiative,?Climate Justice Alliance?Black Caucus,?Ashe Cultural Arts Ctr, and ?The Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership. ????????This vital, Black-exclusive space — the only one of its kind during Climate Week NYC — will bring together established and emerging climate justice leaders from across the diaspora for conversations around the theme “Connecting Land + Black Liberation". ??Confirmed speakers include?Colette Pichon Battle,?Denise Fairchild,?Ayana Elizabeth Johnson,?Jacqueline Patterson,?Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, and Ama Francis! ??Immediately following the Summit, Taproot Earth invites allies to experience the Liberation Lounge. Open to *all* allies of climate justice, this informal space will have refreshments and activities to manifest joy, catalyze movement and practice shared liberation. ?? If you're headed to Climate Week, we invite you to join us! Visit bit.ly/BLACKCLIMATESUMMIT now for an application to attend. (Space is limited and attendance can not be guaranteed) #BlackEarth?#WeChooseNow?#TaprootEarth #TaprootNoire

19 years ago today, Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf South. In her wake, Katrina left a devastating loss of people, land and regional culture. In the months following the Katrina Disaster, many Gulf South communities activated in the face of state inaction, mobilizing to restore their communities and themselves. On August 23rd, Taproot Earth, The Foundation for Louisiana and the Ashe Cultural Arts Center of New Orleans held a remembrance dinner honoring these unsung heroes, holding space to celebrate a history of resistance — and officially launching the Katrina 20 Local Committee. The Katrina 20 Local Committee is a community-led collective tasked with commemorating the 20 years of survival, resistance, culture, joy and community power displayed in the aftermath of Katrina and subsequent climate disasters. Over the next 12 months, the Katrina 20 Local Committee will examine what the community has learned, archive and capture frontline stories and solutions and engage in collective visioning of a sustainable future — culminating in the official commemoration of Katrina 20 in August 2025. If you are a directly-impacted member of Hurricane Katrina, and want to get involved, please apply to join the committee by visiting bit.ly/KATRINA20NOW. #Katrina19 #WeChooseNow #Katrina20

While the climate crisis needs bold leadership, good policies, and (some) technology innovation, we will not meet climate goals without fundamentally shifting how we value one another, and the precious ecosystems we depend on. How do we move away from a culture of extraction, disconnection, and scarcity? How do we build one of abundance, security, and care? Beyond grateful to gather with these water and climate justice leaders at PolicyLink’s Equity Summit next week on this very topic. See you there? ?? ???www.equitysummit2024.org ?????? #EquitySummit2024 #LoveAndSoul #WECRCaucus #ClimateAction #WaterEquity Thank you Benny Starr, Denise Fairchild, PhD (Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC)), Anthony Ramón Pérez Soto (Earth Guardians), Colette Pichon Battle (Taproot Earth), and Houston Cypress (Love The Everglades Movement, Inc.) for sharing your wisdom and hearts. ??

It was an honour to be amongst the great minds that convened at Nairobi, Kenya for the Global Climate Reparation Assembly in early August. The far reaching effects of climate change have become a major highlight in this generation's list of human rights issues. This assembly was a gathering of footmen from the frontlines from different continents representing places adversely affected by climate change. We had a collective but singular goal of defining “Global Climate Reparation”. In doing so, diverse opinions and vulnerabilities were shared from personal experiences, and in representative capacities. From discussions, resolves were made to take the initiative that empowers climate action towards attaining climate justice. Commitments were also renewed to make global change through local and global action. I would like to thank Taproot Earth for this great initiative, her Global facilitators for excellent execution, Lapid Leaders Africa for hosting us, my Kenyan siblings for their hospitality, and all the participants at the assembly for the brilliant exchange of ideas and intellect on defining “Global Climate Reparations”. I look forward to continuous participation in similar discussions and engagement that influences policies and promotes human rights. #humanrights #climateaction #climatechange #climatejustice #climatereparations #taprootearth

CAPPA at the last #GlobalClimateReparations Governance Assembly organised by Taproot Earth in Kenya. The gathering deepened collaboration among frontline #ClimateChange campaigners across the world. We redefined climate reparations and dismantled age-long corporate and political narratives that support sustained infractions and those that delay responsibilities and by extension justice. We harmonised what accountability, repair, redemption and rebuild means to us and concluded that acknowledgement of historical liabilities, transparency, respect for communal ethics and growth patterns are the first steps to reparation followed closely by the just redistribution of resources, land sovereignty, systems change, debt cancellation, black liberation and maximum respect to black culture, identity and historical antecedents. The call for the rejection of imperial styles and systems was also made. Thank you Taproot Earth, we came back with fertile seeds and we will pollinate them across our networks. Taproot Earth

I tell you a little story. We converged in Nairobi Kenya, and the goal was focused! It was the Global Climate Reparations Governance Assembly that brought over 150 #climate #frontline leaders together for alignment/realignment, relationship deepening, and building a shared analysis towards climate justice rooted in Black and indigenous peoples' liberation. At the phenomenal Assembly, convened by Taproot Earth, we collectively created a reflective, intentional, and inclusive definition of climate reparations while grounding ourselves in our collective rootedness and acknowledging the histories, struggles, and accomplishments that have gone before us. Liberation does not come by passive nods and hypocritic ideals of political correctness paraded as policies, and neither does climate reparations. The right hands must be on deck, and suppression must be resisted. We therefore did not shy away from making uncomfortable choices, resisting and redefining our collective heritage to set the stage for what we deserve. "We", being our lands, our histories, our future, our lives, our communities, and our essence. Strength. Courage. Justice. à??! #Climatereparations #ClimateJustice #GCR #GlobalAssembly