Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Majora Carter, founder , Sustainable South Bronx



Majora Carter is an inspiring leader, who took on her own neighborhood in the South Bronx. She believes passionately in environmental justice, that regardless of your race or class that we all have the right to live in a safe and livable neighborhood. She rallied the community around kids' health and pollution in the air and water effecting everyone. She left the "Sustainable South Bronx" and started "The Majora Carter Group", a consulting firm that "trains people who need work to shepherd in new green technologies, transforming polluted sites into lush community spaces and generally ensuring that EVERYONE has a stake in the clean energy economy." (UTNE Reader Nov-Dec.'08)

Check out her moving interview. She speaks from the heart, shares her personal experience and brings that passion into to everything she does. I just quoted this yesterday and feel compelled to do it again today!

"Although the connections are not always obvious, personal change is inseparable from social and political change."---Harriet Lerner

We live in a time of struggle in our community, regardless of how we're personally effected...we are all connected. This is a time for all of us to come together, collaborate, share resources and make some real change here in Columbus, Ohio. There has been an elephant in the room and that is that many of our neighborhoods are NOT EQUAL in safety and livability. Now is the time for that to change on a city wide level and it's exiting to see it actually happening. Community Gardening, Graffiti and Litter Clean ups, Safety plans, increases in civic association memberships and a collective understanding that it is not only the time for change, but it is a necessity. Pulling out the old slogan, "Think Globally, Garden (or fill in the blank) Locally!

CHECK IT! Majora Carter's TED interview:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html

1 comment:

Liz said...
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