In the summer of 2019, Grist invited a diverse group of environmental journalists to balmy Seattle for a candid conversation about the challenges we face in our field. Above all, we saw an urgent need to address a profound gap: the lack of representation of journalists of color in newsrooms across the country covering communities that are hit first and the hardest by the climate crisis and other environmental catastrophes. We also saw a path forward: to leverage collective resources, to build an opportunity pipeline, and to drive lasting change in how newsrooms treat environmental journalists of color and their work.
Thus, The Uproot Project was born.
The climate crisis is one of the most urgent issues of our time. Yet, narratives about climate change often fail to point out that everything — from extreme weather events to climate migration — has disproportionate impacts on communities of color. Newsrooms have yet to address this coverage gap, which also affects the environmental beat more broadly.
If you’re reading this, you probably already know that. So what’s next?
The Uproot Project is building a network to support the work of our peers while amplifying the voices of reporters of color who have been historically underrepresented in environmental journalism. We want to bring diverse voices to the forefront of environmental reporting, and we’re dedicated to advancing the careers of journalists of color who’ve been historically underrepresented in this field, imbuing journalistic coverage with critical and fresh perspectives.
Our network comprises over 500 journalists representing Atmos, CNN, Grist, Time, the Los Angeles Times, ProPublica, Vox, and more. We also partner with organizations such as the Society of Environmental Journalists, Solutions Journalism Network, the National Geographic Society and Covering Climate Now. While we plan to one day operate independently, our first priority is to continue cultivating the network, welcome new members and build an organization that transforms who tells the stories of one of the most important issues of the century.