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Activists Around the World: Mikaela Loach · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha, and welcome to stuff.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I never told your prediction of iHeartRadio.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Happy twenty twenty six Black History Month. Everyone, it is
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: that time of year in the US, and we're going
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: to start our time featuring an amazing activist Arthur and
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: I think a former podcaster because I haven't seen any
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: new podcasts from her specific one since twenty twenty two,
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: but you know she's still part of that crew. To me,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: once you're in there, you're always in there, am I right? Annie?
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  Speaker 1: I think so?
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  Speaker 2: Okay? Anyway, So I'm talking about MICHAELA. Loach. Loach is
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  Speaker 2: a British climate justice activist and many other things social
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  Speaker 2: activists and organizer who's been using her voice, skills and
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  Speaker 2: passion and fighting for the through different mediums to bring
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  Speaker 2: awareness for human rights, social justice and climate justice as well,
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  Speaker 2: all in one. She's all about that intersectional life and
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: she really does an amazing job in putting all of
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: that together and talking about why there are all interrelated,
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: which I think if you know anything about our podcast,
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: we absolutely hold to that and one can't be fixed
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  Speaker 2: without the other needing to be fixed as well. So
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  Speaker 2: moving on, So this is from her site Mikayla Loach
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  Speaker 2: dot com. Quote Michaela's work is deeply rooted in community organizing.
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  Speaker 2: Her activism includes organizing with grassroots climate movements such as
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  Speaker 2: Stop Cambo, Fossil Free Books, Resist Glencore and the UK
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  Speaker 2: Black Eco Feminist Collective, conducting workshops at international climate justice
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  Speaker 2: camps and at local schools, one of which even named
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  Speaker 2: a classroom after her, and delivering keynote speeches at various
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  Speaker 2: events ranging from community gatherings to large institutions, and appearances
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  Speaker 2: on national TV and in the press. And there's such
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  Speaker 2: a great feature of Loach's work in the Guardian article
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  Speaker 2: where they actually talk about her childhood, so I wanted
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: to kind of talk about that as well, because she
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: does mention this throughout her different interviews. Lochu's upbringing laid
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: the seats for her defining belief in the power of
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: incremental change. She was born in Kingston to a Jamaican
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  Speaker 2: mother and British father, and the family moved to a
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  Speaker 2: village in Surrey when she was two and a half.
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  Speaker 2: Her mother now works in computer stuff and her dad
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: and pension stuff. What she with her gen Z perspective,
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  Speaker 2: describes as conventional jobs that people have for many years.
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  Speaker 2: Her family moved for the same reason as many people
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  Speaker 2: who end up being part of the diaspora. Her parents
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  Speaker 2: raised Loach and her younger brother to question the status quo,
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  Speaker 2: armed with a breadth of historical knowledge not found in
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  Speaker 2: UK texts or classrooms. So it's interesting because she does
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  Speaker 2: talk about her family teaching her so much of her history,
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  Speaker 2: things that you couldn't see or you wouldn't find in
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  Speaker 2: a regular classroom, because we know they try to take
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  Speaker 2: out all of the darkness when it comes to the
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  Speaker 2: revolutions and war that happened, especially when it comes to colonialization,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: and she talks about the fact that her father was
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  Speaker 2: very adamant that they learn about these events, specifically for
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: her own history and for her lineage. So she also
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: talks in an interview with Channel four dot com, which
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  Speaker 2: is a news program in the UK, she talks about
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  Speaker 2: her experience watching devastating disasters like Tsunamis destroying lands and homes,
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  Speaker 2: and her being challenged by her father about what she
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  Speaker 2: might do to help, which led to her having a
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  Speaker 2: bake sell at her school to raise money or those impacted.
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  Speaker 2: And she did talk about how yes she was young,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, it seemed kind of silly for some
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  Speaker 2: maybe because children were having a bake sale, but it
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  Speaker 2: really taught her about community and how other students came
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  Speaker 2: together joined her in this event, and realizing that this
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: was a bigger thing and others wanted to help as well.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: So with all that, she continued to organize and rally
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  Speaker 2: others to help, including speaking and publishing her own works.
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  Speaker 2: So she has published two books so far. Again, we're
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  Speaker 2: actually gonna probably read one of these BT douves, so
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: get a you know, go ahead and get you the copy.
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  Speaker 2: The first book she publish is It's Not that Radical
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  Speaker 2: Climate Action to Transform Our World, which she did in
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, and then she also published Climate Is
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Just the Start, and that was released last year, so
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. And here's a bit about her first
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  Speaker 2: book from the Guardian dot com. And It's not that Radical.
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  Speaker 2: Loach reframes the climate change debate, arguing that it requires
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  Speaker 2: racial equality, a pathway to a better world for everyone,
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  Speaker 2: regardless of class, color, where you live, or any other
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  Speaker 2: stratification that currently shapes life. She wants everyone to know
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  Speaker 2: that the climate crisis came from the systems of a
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  Speaker 2: repression that caused people harm. Today they get beega one.
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  Speaker 2: According to her, I do see it as a part
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  Speaker 2: of my calling in this movement to make the diaspora
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  Speaker 2: phil welcome, even though we didn't cause the crisis, and
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  Speaker 2: it's not our fault. I think it's our responsibility because
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  Speaker 2: we live in the core of the empire and in
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  Speaker 2: the core of imperialism. Here we have a huge proximity
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  Speaker 2: to power that our siblings on the African continent or
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  Speaker 2: in Jamaica and all the Caribbeans don't have. So she
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  Speaker 2: has talked in depth of the intersectionality of climate change
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  Speaker 2: as well, calling out the imbalance of power and how
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  Speaker 2: white supremacy and imperialism have welcomed and allowed for the climate
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  Speaker 2: crisis to begin with. The Guardian continues saying both persist
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  Speaker 2: today and need to be dismantled if climate justice a
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  Speaker 2: better world for everybody is to be achieved. So from
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: another article from blogger Curious dot Earth, they talk about
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  Speaker 2: the specific chapter from the book titled Beyond White Environmentalism,
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  Speaker 2: saying this Loje expounds how white supremacy has not only
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  Speaker 2: caused the climate crisis through colonialism, creating the blueprint for
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  Speaker 2: the extra activism, exploitation, detachment from nature, devaluing of life,
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  Speaker 2: and violence still employed by fossil fuel companies today, but
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  Speaker 2: has also quote made our climate movements sick by exclusion
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  Speaker 2: and silencing the voices of those most impacted by the
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  Speaker 2: crisis through its manifestation in white environmentalism. They emphasize the
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  Speaker 2: need for balance between the creation of SAT safe regenerative
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: organizing spaces for bipock people to mobilize together, and for
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  Speaker 2: mainstream organizing spaces to diversify and become safer and more
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  Speaker 2: anti racists. Again, really big statement. I think that says
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  Speaker 2: a lot in what we talked about previously and how
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  Speaker 2: environmentalism climate justice has to be inclusive and how that
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  Speaker 2: has to be intersectional as well, and who we're bringing
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  Speaker 2: at the table in this conversation. But with that, she
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  Speaker 2: has also published our second book, which is actually a
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  Speaker 2: children's book. So here's a descriptor from goodreads dot com.
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  Speaker 2: Kids hear about the climate crisis pretty much every day
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  Speaker 2: from their parents, from their teachers, on social media, and
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  Speaker 2: in the news. There's no escaping it. Against they brought
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  Speaker 2: her backdrop of social inequity and unfairness it's easy for
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  Speaker 2: young people to feel a sense of doom about everything
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  Speaker 2: and to feel powerless, and climate is just the start.
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  Speaker 2: UK based climate activist MICHAELA. Loach offers her urgent and
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  Speaker 2: inspiring messages for kids who want to stop the climate
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  Speaker 2: crisis and start building a better world for everyone. Loach
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  Speaker 2: explains the climate crisis and it's broader social implications through
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  Speaker 2: personal stories about her activism journey. She writes about friends
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  Speaker 2: from around the world who are experiencing the worst of
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  Speaker 2: it today and about what they are doing to fight back.
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  Speaker 2: She delivers a message of not only hope, but also
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  Speaker 2: of excitement for the opportunity to create a sustainable future
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  Speaker 2: for Earth and better lives for people in the process.
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  Speaker 2: So that may be the book for this month. Listeners,
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: just a heads up. We'll see and yes she is
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: a woman of action. In twenty twenty three, she staged
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: a protest at the Edinburgh Book Fest for having fossil
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  Speaker 2: fil companies as sponsors of the event. The Guardian again
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  Speaker 2: covered this protest and they wrote this. She said to
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  Speaker 2: the audience, I can't actually in good faith continue just
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  Speaker 2: talking about these issues without doing something, especially given that
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: the festival is sponsored by an investment firm that is
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: bankrolling this climate crisis. In an emotional speech, the author said,
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  Speaker 2: I think, especially recently, if you look across the world,
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: Maui is literally on fire, as we've seen right now.
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  Speaker 2: So this was in twenty twenty three. Loach, who was
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  Speaker 2: British and was born in Jamaica, added, I don't know
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  Speaker 2: if my ancestral land will still be here if I
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  Speaker 2: have children, or if I have descendants. The reason for
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  Speaker 2: this is because of fossil fuel companies not caring about
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  Speaker 2: the climate crisis, whether they say they do or not.
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  Speaker 2: So we have to remove the finance from them, any
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  Speaker 2: tactic that we can, we have to stop them from
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  Speaker 2: being able to exist. So again, she has done so
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  Speaker 2: much more. This is just one of the many events.
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  Speaker 2: She has done, many more organizing and continues to do
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  Speaker 2: much of our activism. She was a part of campaigns
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  Speaker 2: with Climate Camp Scotland. She's been there to push back
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  Speaker 2: against fast fashion and how they are unsustainable and so
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  Speaker 2: much more. As we talked about early and one of
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  Speaker 2: the things that she's also talked about has been continued
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  Speaker 2: to hold onto herself as a what she says soft
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  Speaker 2: black girl, talking about wanting to be able to be
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  Speaker 2: still moved and compassionate about the things around her, allowing
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  Speaker 2: her self to grieve and needed and being moved to action.
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  Speaker 2: She even talks about wanting to wear pink because of
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: the stereotype that we hear for women who are in
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  Speaker 2: charge or who are vocal about their activism, that oftentimes
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  Speaker 2: they're being painted as aggressive, and she wants to move
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  Speaker 2: away from that and to show her in herself. And
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  Speaker 2: with all of that, she has many accolades under her belt,
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  Speaker 2: including one of the most Influential Women in the Climate
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  Speaker 2: Movement by Forbes and The Guardian and BBC Woman's Hour.
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  Speaker 2: She was also featured as a world's Top thinker by
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  Speaker 2: Prospect magazine. So yeah, she's doing a lot and continues
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  Speaker 2: to do a lot, and I can't wait to see
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  Speaker 2: more stuff from her.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, well, listeners, be on the lookout for our book
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: pick of the month. I'm very excited about it. I
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: think it'll be fun. And Yes, if you have any
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: thoughts about who we should cover next, any other resources,
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: we would love to get those from you. You can
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: email us at Hello at Stuffannever Told You dot com.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: You can find us on Blue Scott mom Stuff podcast
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff. We Never Told You.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise at Coop Bureau,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: and we have a book you can get wherever you
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: get your books. Thanks, It's always too our super produced Christina,
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: our executive Prus And and your contributor Joey.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Sorry.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: Always, thank you, and we love you. We're sorry and
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: thanks to you for listening. Stuff I Never Told You
• 10:44
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