YOUTH SPOTLIGHT
BLACK MESA
WATER COALITION
The Black Mesa Water Coalition on the Diné (Navajo) and Hopi reservations, in
northeastern Arizona, also organizes around coal mining issues. Young adult
organizers from the Coalition spoke about how elders in their community came to
appreciate the radical role that youth are able to play in community change:
“There’s a lot of power in being a youth organization. You can get away with a
little more in the community. You’re forgiven for some things, for maybe some
radical ideas, and sometimes we’ve been asked by our older organizations to
lead the more radical [fights] because they just can’t do it. So that’s using your
place – where you and your organization are – in a strategic way.”
— Enei Begaye, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Our Power (film) 8:20
(Below) Black Mesa Water Coalition members advocating for green jobs that support a Just Transition.
Photo: Black Mesa Water Coalition.
72
GOODFOODCITIES.ORG