FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, February 11, 2022
Contact:
Ryan Hidden
(309) 265-8057
[email protected]
NAACP & Sierra Club Youth Environmental Justice Speaker Event
NAACP & Sierra Club Gave Environmental Justice Books To Peoria Public Schools
Peoria, IL -- Yesterday, Peoria NAACP and Heart of Illinois (HOI) Sierra Club gave copies of No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference by Greta Thunberg and M Archive: After the End of the World by Alexis Pauline Gumbs to Peoria Public Schools middle and high schools. In connection with the book giveaway, there is an online Youth Environmental Justice Speaker Event Thursday, February 17 at 7 pm, for young people to listen to youth environmental activists tell their stories and discuss their current projects. Register at bit.ly/YouthEJ.
NAACP Peoria Branch President Marvin Hightower told Suzanne Mullen's 8th-grade science class at Von Steuben Middle School, "When I was younger, I didn't realize how important environmental issues are. But after seeing the changes in our environment, I realize we have one planet, and if we don't take care of it, we won't have any planet."
The Peoria NAACP partnered with the HOI Sierra Club on the Environmental Justice Book Giveaway to Peoria Public School's middle and high schools. The books in the giveaway are No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference by Greta Thunberg and M Archive: After the End of the World by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.
No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference contains the groundbreaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist, including her historic address to the United Nations. She has become the voice of a generation.
M Archive: After the End of the World is about a future researcher who uncovers evidence of the conditions of late capitalism, anti-blackness, and environmental crisis and shares their perspective. It is a future archive, an opportunity to consider the decisions we make now from the standpoint of those beings who are here after us. Read the book introduction here.
"The program is designed to introduce young people to environmental justice and inspire youth leadership to lift the voices of their generation to address environmental crises. It is their lives; It is their future," says Ryan Hidden, organizing representative for Sierra Club Beyond Coal.
Tonyisha Harris, Illinois Environmental Council, will be speaking about the Environmental Justice Act (HB4093/SB2906), and Akin Carter, Black Oaks Center, will discuss the Pembroke, IL residential gas piping issue at the Youth Environmental Justice Speaker Event.
###
Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP.
The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
***