Long before Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru embraced the label of “environmentalist” at just 19 years old, she grew up working in the soil, gardening with her mother and grandmother in the Quiet Corner region of Northeastern Connecticut. As the daughter of Kenyan immigrants, her family lineage is steeped in agriculture, tracing back through generations.

Even with such a rich connection to the land, Gatheru, who later established the national nonprofit Black Girl Environmentalist (BGE), initially found it challenging to identify with the broader environmental movement.

“I used to believe that being an environmentalist was synonymous with wealth, hiking gear, and brands like Patagonia—elements that my family simply didn’t have access to or engage with,” Gatheru reflects. “I struggled to relate my love for gardening and the outdoors to significant environmental issues.”

The pivotal moment that shifted Gatheru’s perspective occurred during a high school environmental science course, specifically a segment on environmental justice that struck a personal chord with her.

“That class reshaped my understanding of environmental matters, bringing climate change into sharper focus for me,” she recalls. “I began to comprehend how the climate crisis exacerbates existing systemic issues. I recognized that to effect social change, addressing climate issues had to be my starting point.”

Climate Injustice in Black Communities

It’s well established that climate change does not affect populations equitably, and those bearing the brunt of its adverse effects are often excluded from environmental initiatives. Research highlights these disparities.

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2018 revealed that Black individuals are exposed to particulate matter—such as soot and smoke—at a rate 1.54 times higher than that of the general U.S. population, posing significant health risks.

Despite constituting only 13.6 percent of the U.S. demographic, Black Americans are disproportionately situated near coal power stations, oil refineries, and gas plants, facing the direct impacts of noise, emissions, and other pollutants.

Such imbalances lead to severe consequences, including higher mortality rates linked to environmental factors among Black individuals. Black women and girls face heightened vulnerability to adverse health outcomes due to compounding racial and gender discrimination.

“Women are often the hardest hit by the climate crisis and environmental injustices, as patriarchal structures infringe upon our basic rights,” Gatheru observes.

She adds, “For women of color, particularly Black and Indigenous women, the interconnected impacts of systemic racism, colonialism, and imperialism shape the experiences of environmental hazards and affect our political representation.”

Moreover, environmental science remains one of the least diverse areas within STEM fields. In 2021, merely 138 Black women earned degrees in environmental science, compared to 2,945 White women and 2,248 White men.

This lack of representation is further emphasized by what experts term “the green ceiling,” indicating that while nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population consists of people of color, they represent less than 16 percent of the workforce in environmental organizations.

Although disheartened by these disparities, Gatheru felt overwhelmed as a teenager when she first confronted them. The realization that she discovered environmental justice almost serendipitously while so few were addressing “the most pressing issue in the world” spurred her into action.