DeepSummary
In this episode of the Breaking Green Ceilings podcast, host Sapna Mulky interviews Christy Drautman, a digital strategist and host of the podcast and media series Brown Girl Green. Christy shares her journey of pursuing environmental studies and how her identity as a Jewish Filipino American shaped her perspectives on environmentalism and activism.
Christy discusses the challenges she faced as an environmentalist of color, including feeling burnout and pressure to conform to traditional forms of activism. She emphasizes the importance of finding one's authentic way of contributing to the movement and operating from a space of joy and abundance.
Throughout the conversation, Christy highlights the need for diverse storytelling and representation in the environmental movement. She encourages individuals to share their stories, connect with their communities, and collaborate with others to amplify marginalized voices and create culturally relevant content that resonates with different groups.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Find your authentic way of contributing to the environmental movement and operate from a space of joy and abundance.
- Engage with and share stories that resonate with your community to create culturally relevant content.
- Collaborate with others and build relationships to amplify marginalized voices and create an inclusive movement.
- Recognize the challenges and burnout faced by marginalized groups in traditional forms of activism.
- Embrace vulnerability and be willing to learn and grow as an activist.
- Celebrate diverse perspectives and identities within the environmental movement.
- Use digital platforms and storytelling to connect with different communities and engage them in environmental issues.
- Challenge misconceptions and stereotypes about marginalized communities and their relationship with the environment.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I channeled that energy of feeling divided and isolated into being like, well, who can I find who's on my team and can contribute to this? And that's basically been what I've figured out over the past two years. And it's been a labor of love and just being very awkward and uncomfortable and just being like, you know what? This is what I need, and I'm going to ask for it even though I'm nervous.“ by Christy Drautman
- “I would say, like, one of the biggest pains was just, like, not having, like, there's just a lot of, like, ableism in the environmental movement. I don't know how else to put it in a lot of organizing spaces, just a lot of, like, you need to keep going, even if you're burnt out.“ by Christy Drautman
- “I learned that from Adrienne Marie Brown's book pleasure. Activism is that, like, our greatest power is operating out of, like, a space of, like, joy and abundance for the way we show up in the work that we do and the movement.“ by Christy Drautman
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Episode Information
Breaking Green Ceilings
Sapna Mulki
4/28/20
Kristy Drutman is Jewish Filipino American environmental media host, activist, independent consultant and digital media strategist who created the podcast and media series known as Brown Girl Green.
Forging her own path through the careers within environmentalism, Kristy is passionate about working at the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism and has used that passion to speak in front of thousands about the current climate crisis, facilitate workshops, and work with youth from around the world to create collaborative, intersectional online media with the goal of creating conscious, culturally relevant content.
Environmental Communication
Community outreach is something many organizations struggle with, especially when it comes to connecting with communities of color. Generally asking themselves how to make people of color come to them, they often fail to consider how they can make themselves more accessible to the local communities of color.
“Figure out who your community is and how you can communicate with them. I think everyone has an important story to share, and we need as many storytellers as possible right now to be able to engage people, because maybe you come from a completely different community than where I come from, and you’re able to communicate to your community in a different way than I could that will be able to connect with their hearts and mind to take action.”
-Kristy Drutman
Collaboration
Along with strategic and effective community outreach, the importance of collaboration continues to grow with the increasing specialization of skills and activists. Ranging from the protesters to the policy makers, and everywhere in between, to make an impact, larger and larger groups with specific specialties will have to work together. Kristy uses her education, platform, and consultation to bridge these gaps, bringing people together, and promoting a sense of community within environmentalism.
Other Topics
This week's conversation on Breaking Green Ceilings is full of insight and inspiration. From the difference between forest service and urban planning type environmental jobs, to what defines an environmental activist, to why identity politics matter, there is much to learn from guest Kristy Drutman.
Follow Kristi Drutman:
Related Resources:
- Effectiveness of Outreach
- The Science Behind the Growing Importance of Collaboration
- Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown