Earlier this month an increasingly visible movement for “green-collar jobs” hosted a historic event in Memphis, commemorating the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Dream Reborn, a conference reenvisioning King’s legacy in our current circumstances, was sponsored by Green For All, an environmental justice alliance. The event glowed with the organization’s vision, that we can create a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Infused with phrases like “Green jobs, not jails,” The Dream Reborn embodied a beautiful unity of movements, concretely examining the interrelation of environmental sustainability and societal sustainability, and how confronting climate change can and must be the same struggle as the fight against inequality, racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ablism, and all forms of oppression.
Green-collar jobs are defined as family-sustaining, career-track jobs that engage the creation and transformation of a more sustainable society- one that does not permanently harm the Earth.
Some amazing models for this work are being pioneered around the country, with job training programs designed for formerly incarcerated/convicted persons to enter in energy efficiency or renewable energy work. As the green economy becomes an increasing reality, this movement shows how vital it is that no one is left out.
As organizations like the Council on Crime and Justice approach the corrections system from inside and out, the sustainability movement and other causes can join in solidarity and alliance, as these struggles are so connected.
