Leah Thomas (ecofeminist)

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Leah Thomas
Personal information
Born (1994-12-17) December 17, 1994 (age 30)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEnvironmental activist
Website www.intersectionalenvironmentalist.com
Instagram information
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Leah Thomas, also known as Green Girl Leah, [1] [2] is an American environmental activist active on Instagram whose work focuses on the application of intersectionality to environmental justice. [3] [4] She has been recognized in the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list of notable young professionals. [5]

Contents

Thomas grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri, 10 minutes from where the shooting of Michael Brown by police happened. [6] She found no one was talking about the intersection of environmental and social injustices, such as the Flint, Michigan water crises where 57% of the population is Black. [7]

She gained notoriety after an Instagram post of hers that used the phrase "intersectional environmentalism" and called for environmental activists to support Black Lives Matter in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. [2] [8] [9]

She runs Intersectional Environmentalist, a website targeted towards people interested in the relationship between the environment and social justice. [2] She is the author of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet, which provides advice to environmental activists and describes theories of relationships between race, privilege, social justice, and the environment. [10] [11]

Thomas advocates for climate change activists to adopt anti-racist approaches in order to facilitate an intersectional environmental movement. [12]

Education

Thomas graduated Chapman University in Orange, California in 2017 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy. [13]

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References

  1. Wally, Maxine (22 July 2020). "Green Girl Leah on Why Environmentalists Must Speak Up for Black Lives Matter". W.
  2. 1 2 3 Ashoka, Shivani (12 February 2022). "A new generation of activists are changing how we think about sustainability". The Daily Telegraph .
  3. Thomas, Leah (22 April 2021). "Intersectional Environmentalism Is the Urgent Way Forward". Marie Claire .
  4. Gonzales, Erica (9 July 2020). "Lucky 13: Environmental Activist Leah Thomas Shares the Sustainable Pieces She Loves". Harper's Bazaar .
  5. "Intersectional Environmentalist". Forbes. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. "Environmental Hero: Leah Thomas". One Earth. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. "Majority of Flint residents support reparations for Black Americans, U-M survey shows". University of Michigan News. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  8. Robinson, Breanna (19 April 2022). "10 Black Environmentalists Addressing Climate Injustice". Ebony .
  9. Capshaw-Mack, Sophie (10 November 2021). "A Conversation With Leah Thomas, Intersectional Environmentalist". State of the Planet. Columbia University.
  10. Platt, John R. (2 April 2022). "7 new environmental books for advice, lessons, projects and inspiration". National Catholic Reporter .
  11. Spurrell, Megan (17 March 2022). "Activist Leah Thomas on How Intersectional Environmentalism and Travel Can Coexist". Traveler. Condé-Nast.
  12. de Ferrer, Marthe (21 October 2020). "Why is environmentalism more popular in LGBTQ+ communities?". Euronews Green .
  13. Arp, Dennis (22 April 2022). "Environmental Activist Leah Thomas '17 Shares an Empowering Earth Day Message With Chapman Students". Chapman Newsroom. Retrieved 12 February 2024.