Valencia Gunder: A lot of folks don’t know this, but I am formally educated in international agricultural business. Valencia, what led you to begin focusing on environmental work when you have such a breadth of experience elsewhere? Colette Pichon Battle had assembled a team of Black women to start to look at this work and because I have been working on local, national, and municipal areas, it was a really fun opportunity to jump in and start to design the big conversation that we need to have about how air, water, land, and human survival is either built into the system or cut out of it. Tamara Toles O’Laughlin: So my relationship to V began at the very top of setting the strategy for the legislative program for the Red Black and Green New Deal. And, although I did not know Tamara before the Red Black and Green New Deal, I wish I would have, and she’s never going anywhere ever again. And, our relationship was a work relationship at first, but we have become sisters over time. Shoutout to Colette Pichon Battle for connecting us. She also heavily committed to the Red Black and Green New Deal. I met Tamara when I started to work at Movement for Black Lives with the Red Black and Green New Deal. She’s working on two or three things at once and when you think that she’s asleep, she’s like, “No, I just finished doing wellness checks on 1,500 people over the weekend while you were taking a break.” Tamara Toles O’Laughlin: She’s always grinding. And I’m super grateful to be a part of this work. Valencia Gunder: And I’m super proud of her and all of the work that she’s accomplished for our people. Tamara Toles O’Laughlin: She is repping for the South in every way. Valencia Gunder: And a person that I look up to on many, many levels. She’s kind of like the Madonna of Black climate work. The short way to think about that is that I am dedicated to making sure there are Black people in the future. I’m a national climate strategist and the CEO and president of the Environmental Grantmakers Association. Tamara Toles O’Laughlin: My name’s Tamara Toles O’Laughlin. I just, you know, rattle the fence a lot. I do workshops, political education, communication tools, social media. And, honestly the way I cut my teeth in organizing, it was told to me very simple - “Your job is to go out and teach people all these amazing things you know about building power.” I still canvass my community.
Most folks just call me ‘V.’ I use she/her pronouns. Valencia Gunder: Hey everybody, this is Valencia Gunder. Today, Valencia and Tamara talk about the link between climate and race, and what it means to build power. They met while working together on the Red Black and Green New Deal.
Valencia chose to speak with Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, national climate strategist and the CEO and president of the Environmental Grantmakers Association. She’s also the national organizing lead for the Red Black and Green New Deal at the Movement for Black Lives and is one of our 2021 Grist 50 Fixers. Valencia is the founder and co-director of The Smile Trust, a food and housing justice organization that also does disaster relief.
Jess Stahl: This is our last conversation of the series and we’re pleased to bring you a chat between Valencia Gunder and Tamara Toles O’Laughlin. Xiuhtezcatl: We’re always kind of like keeping each other in check, and we’re always looking at like, what is possible? What can we create? What can we build and do in the world? Spencer R Scott: I think I see you as a mentor and we kind of created a community where, you know, we can mentor each other. Tamara Toles O’Laughlin: We’re going to have to keep saying it so that the people in the back and the people with power will recognize that we’re not coming on behalf of our community, we’re coming alongside them. For each episode, we asked one changemaker to tell us who inspires them, who supports them, and then, we brought them together. And this season of Temperature Check, we’re turning over the reins to climate and justice leaders to talk about mentorship.
I’m Jess Stahl, editor for creative storytelling at Fix. Jess Stahl: Welcome to Temperature Check, a podcast about climate, justice, and the people making a difference. Listen to all the episodes now, right here (or wherever you get your podcasts). Season Two features climate leaders and their mentors in a series of intimate, insightful conversations about what it takes to find purpose, passion, and even enjoyment in the fight for a better planet. Temperature Check is a podcast at the intersection of climate and justice.