“We are seeing that no one else is going to fight for youth of color like youth of color. We don’t need people to speak on behalf of us when we can speak for ourselves”. Meet Nyiesha Mallet, a youth activist at UPROSE in Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn’s oldest Latinx led organization whose mission is based in climate and community justice for Black and Brown folks.
Introduced to UPROSE at the age of 14, Nyiesha found herself in the midst of a Climate Justice boom that was in full swing. “I spent that Summer organizing my first Climate Justice Youth Summit, and was given the opportunity to speak on my first panel about how Environment injustice affected me. UPROSE not only gave me the knowledge, but the space to learn, grow and be a part of a community.” said Nyiesha. “They believed in me enough, and that allowed me to believe in myself enough to grow into the activist I am today.”
Throughout her organizing, Nyiesha has begun to connect the dots between New York City politics and environmental justice solutions, “NYC leadership is lacking right now when it comes to creative solutions to continue to support youth of color.”
Even so, Nyeisha emphasized the importance of other youth like herself to use their voices as their source of power,”The most important thing that young people should know about environmentmental activism is that you’re never too young to speak up. In fact your voice is the voice that matters the most, especially young people of color. Your voice is your experience, and your activism is you speaking up for yourself and your pears.” Nyeisha continued, “Our elders in this movement can only fight and nurture us for so long, and they need now more than ever to know that we will pick up the torch and light the way for others to join.”
Brooklyn, NY
How can a community shed its industrial past and transform into a thriving green economy—all while ensuring the long-term well-being of the people who call it home? In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a vibrant working-class neighborhood rich in cultural diversity, the answer lies in community-led innovation. Through an inclusive consultation process, the residents of Sunset Park have developed the GRID 2.0 Plan, a bold vision for green re-industrialization. This comprehensive approach integrates renewable energy, green infrastructure, and transportation justice, while prioritizing local job creation, equitable resource distribution, and the protection of frontline and vulnerable populations. Sunset Park is showing the world how urban decarbonization can benefit communities from within, offering a roadmap for sustainable, just, and inclusive urban transformation.
Learn more: https://www.uprose.org