1. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  2. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  3. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  4. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  5. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  6. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  7. RACISM IN THE WATER
  8. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  9. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  10. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  11. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  12. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  13. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  14. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  15. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  16. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  17. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  18. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  19. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  20. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  21. Ian Harris
  22. Melissa Ostroff
  23. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  24. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  25. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  26. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  27. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  28. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  29. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  30. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  31. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  32. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  33. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  34. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  35. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  36. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  37. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  38. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  39. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  40. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  41. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  42. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  43. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  44. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  45. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  46. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  47. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  48. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  49. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  50. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  51. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  52. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  53. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  54. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  55. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  56. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  57. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  58. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  59. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  60. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  61. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  62. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  63. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  64. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  65. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  66. THE NATURE GAP
  67. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  68. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  69. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  70. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  71. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  72. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  73. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  74. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  75. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  76. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  77. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  78. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  79. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  80. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  81. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  82. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  83. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  84. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  85. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  86. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  87. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  88. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  89. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  90. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  91. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  92. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  93. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  94. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  95. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  96. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  97. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  98. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  99. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  100. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  101. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  102. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  103. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  104. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  105. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  106. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  107. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  108. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  109. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  110. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  111. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  112. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  113. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  114. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  115. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  116. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  117. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  118. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  119. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  120. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  121. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  122. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  123. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  124. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  125. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  126. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  127. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  128. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  129. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  130. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  131. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  132. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  133. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  134. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  135. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  136. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  137. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  138. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  139. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  140. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  141. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  142. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  143. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  144. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  145. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  146. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  147. Are You Going to Drink That?
  148. The Origins of ecoWURD
  149. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  150. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  151. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  152. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
  1. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  2. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  3. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  4. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  5. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  6. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  7. RACISM IN THE WATER
  8. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  9. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  10. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  11. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  12. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  13. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  14. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  15. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  16. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  17. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  18. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  19. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  20. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  21. Ian Harris
  22. Melissa Ostroff
  23. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  24. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  25. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  26. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  27. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  28. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  29. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  30. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  31. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  32. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  33. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  34. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  35. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  36. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  37. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  38. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  39. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  40. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  41. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  42. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  43. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  44. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  45. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  46. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  47. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  48. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  49. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  50. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  51. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  52. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  53. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  54. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  55. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  56. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  57. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  58. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  59. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  60. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  61. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  62. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  63. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  64. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  65. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  66. THE NATURE GAP
  67. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  68. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  69. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  70. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  71. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  72. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  73. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  74. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  75. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  76. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  77. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  78. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  79. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  80. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  81. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  82. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  83. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  84. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  85. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  86. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  87. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  88. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  89. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  90. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  91. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  92. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  93. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  94. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  95. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  96. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  97. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  98. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  99. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  100. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  101. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  102. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  103. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  104. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  105. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  106. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  107. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  108. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  109. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  110. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  111. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  112. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  113. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  114. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  115. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  116. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  117. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  118. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  119. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  120. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  121. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  122. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  123. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  124. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  125. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  126. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  127. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  128. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  129. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  130. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  131. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  132. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  133. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  134. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  135. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  136. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  137. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  138. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  139. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  140. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  141. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  142. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  143. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  144. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  145. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  146. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  147. Are You Going to Drink That?
  148. The Origins of ecoWURD
  149. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  150. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  151. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  152. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess

Author: Kai Davis

 

When I tell people I’m a poet for a living I’m often met with surprise. I get a lot of, “How do you make that work?” and “I didn’t know there were people that did that full time.” The truth is, I get it. There aren’t a lot of stable working writers who aren’t also teachers or students or occupying some other working class job. There especially aren’t a lot of Black women doing poetry full time. As a result, my journey has been marked by trial, error, and a good dose of luck.

 

 

I started doing poetry as a way to communicate the concerns in my life as a young Black girl. I dealt with a lot of emotional turmoil as a result of growing up in both the whiteness of private school and the disadvantages of public school. In a lot of ways poetry was a remedy for that turmoil. I got involved in a youth poetry organization, which led to local poetry slams, which led to national poetry slams. I worked hard on my craft, constantly seeking edits, practicing my performance in the mirror, and taking every opportunity to perform. I wasn’t the only one working this hard. That’s where the luck comes in.

 

 

I competed in a poetry slam with a poem entitled, “F*** I Look Like” and suddenly I had a viral video. Filmmaker Sharvon Hales happened to be filming that day and happened to ignore orders not to post online and someone with a lot of Tumblr followers happened to see it and it spread to youtube, worldstar, and blogs across the web. I don’t want to downplay what happened. I wrote a poem that spoke to people, especially Black girls across the country who were struggling to articulate their condition and looking for representation. However, it was luck that allowed it to reach them. Had that poem not gone viral, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

 

 

There seems to be an unspoken rule amongst entrepreneurs and self-employed folks, to not mention luck as a factor in your success. I find that to be incredibly harmful, especially for marginalized people. We are so often told that we are the one thing that is holding us back. We are told that our conditions can be changed if we put mind over matter. But what about predominantly white institutions not hiring us because our names look too ethnic, or banks denying us loans, or the algorithms on apps like Tik-Tok that keep Black creators out of the spotlight. These are barriers that aren’t always circumvented through hard work. Telling creators who are just starting out that the obstacles they encounter aren’t real or difficult perpetuates the racist idea that we can simply pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. It has the potential to destroy people’s self-esteem by encouraging them to blame themselves for their oppression.

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in accountability. I believe that success is possible through consistency, which is fueled by passion in what you do. That’s the only reason I was able to flip viral success into a career. I kept creating, got booked for college shows, gained more of a following, kept people abreast to what I was up to and that worked… for a while. Then I discovered that I was being severely underpaid, which is not uncommon for Black poets. Especially for Black poets representing themselves.

 

 

By happenstance, someone I knew personally was starting an agency and was open to representing me. This is that luck I was talking about. I rose to the opportunity by providing info for a media kit, getting headshots, and re-working my workshop descriptions. Yet, the thing that made the biggest difference was that my agent is a white woman. It’s not always you, it’s the system.

 

 

As a Black woman who performs poetry that is unapologetically pro-Black, Queer, and in defense of women, it was hard representing myself to institutions that wrote the big checks. Once I got my foot in the door and was able to stay there with some consistency, I used it as an opportunity to challenge the culture of the universities, to educate staff and students, and advocate for poets like myself by inviting them to shows and paying them. If I eat, the homies gotta eat too. I’ve gained knowledge on the way from poets who were candid with me about their process. I started managing my income with quickbooks, updating my bio regularly, using social media to stay connected with other poets, and affirming the work of my peers as often as possible. I then pass that info along to my community because my community isn’t my enemy.

 

 

I try to be honest about my journey because that’s the only way we will all survive. It’s important to be generous with resources and information because that generosity always comes back. That’s what sustainability is all about. It is also paramount to the success of those around us who face the same hurdles that we do. Hard work and passion are not the only things we need. We need opportunity. Hard work and passion allow us to be prepared for the opportunities once they arise, and generosity and honesty allow for our successes to not exist in a vacuum.

 

 

My success in the poetry world is not common. I am the exception to the rule as a result of being in the right place at the right time. That doesn’t make me better than the poet next to me. What it does is put me in the position to reach audiences that were once inaccessible, to gain knowledge that was once inaccessible, and to share that with my people. White supremacy, elitism, and capitalism are antithetical to our work as artists because it turns everything into a competition. If we are lucky enough to be the exception, then it is up to us to make someone else lucky.