Colectivx Raices Negras

Colectivx Raíces Negras is a grassroots organization founded by and in support of BIPoC community members in Madrid, Spain who want to decolonize the climate justice movement through education.

We intend to create spaces for BIPOC to come together and deepen their consciousness of climate injustice through the delivery of free Climate justice awareness workshops where we will explore themes such as environmental racism, food sovereignty, resource governance, etc. 

Additionally we hold spaces for healing from eco-anxiety and a space to reflect on the realities of climate colonialism so that we may become better advocates for those living on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

In combination with these open spaces, we also want to offer free workshops to radicalized teachers where the facilitators will be able to present on content related to intersectional environmentalism in the climate justice movement  that will serve to inform their community in several areas such as: food sovereignty, resource governance, etc. In order to help us offer these free workshops, we will need funding from organizations that align with our values in addition to contracting paid workshops with anti-bias training and forming long-term contacts with those schools/organizations. 

Colectivx Raíces Negras recognizes the nuance of BIPoC as it cannot encompass the many identities that have been impacted by colonialism. It’s important for us to establish a working definition of what it means to us in the community that we are wanting to build. We aim to maintain this space for people most impacted by systemic racism which are often met with daily challenges and barriers which white people do not face. We’ll use The BIPoC project’s approach to which the term is used to  highlight the unique relationship to whiteness that Indigenous* and Black people have which shapes the experiences of and relationship to white supremacy for all people of color within an international context. Unapologetically, we are an organization that is FUBU- for us and by us. Black and People of color have carved out the need for our own spaces without white people present, for our own safety and healing.  We want to take care of BIPoC and racialised folk who have historically had a collective discriminatory and racist experience in society. 

*Indigenous in this context refers to the original people from lands that experienced colonization. As we are geographically located in Spain, we don’t include white Spaniards in this term. It would be people historically and presently subjugated by colonizing countries like Spain such as people from various countries in the global south who have immigrated here either by choice or force. 

Open spaces: 

We hold “Open spaces” for other Madrid based social justice organisations and individuals with a passion for social justice to be able to come together and share how they feel climate injustice shows up in their social movement.