Yesterday, I flew home from PolicyLink’s Equity Summit in Atlanta that Zakiyaa and I attended as part of the Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus delegation. While on the plane, I was doing my best to reflect and process the notes and feelings I’d jotted down through the week. Ideas about love and soul work, and whatever that’s got to do with creating equitable public policy — a lot, it turns out — and how we create a nation that truly works for everyone. These ideas are fresh, so that’s why I’m sharing them with you today.
How does your work express love? That is a question posed throughout the Summit, both rhetorically and literally to speakers and panelists. It was beautiful to listen to the emotion in people’s voices as they spoke about their families, their ancestors, their communities, the land and the water, and hope for a better future. Love isn’t soft. We laugh because we love. We are angry because we love. We compromise because we love. We fight compromise because we love.
I’m biased of course, but am left stuck on the idea that water is a lot like love. It gives us life. It can be soft and flexible. Water can also rage and destroy. It can be weaponized through “Jim Crow engineering” or withheld to commit genocide. Its necessity and ubiquity is a call to action, a responsibility, as much as an opportunity.
Tapping into that connection with water and with our collective humanity is what drives our work for safe, affordable water for all. Learn more about the Caucus water affordability work in a new short video we created for the Equity Summit.
Memes, gifs, and graphics, oh my!
We aren’t going to change the world without fostering connection to the water issues our nation faces, and having a little fun while we do it. The last few weeks, the Water Hub has been busy on social media meme-making and working with content creators to bring policy to the people. Need some inspiration for your own work? Take a minute to read last year’s blog on using memes, gifs, and graphics to tell your story.
Making waves
Calling community-based organizations working for clean and safe drinking water infrastructure!
The SRF State Advocates Forum is recruiting a State Revolving Fund Advocacy Cohort to collectively advocate for safe drinking water and clean water funding while working with cohort members to generate local strategies. Learn more about the funded State Revolving Fund Advocacy Cohort and fill out the interest form by September 9, 2024.
Water we reading
Mary Annaïse Heglar’s debut novel, Troubled Waters, is a powerful story about college-aged Corrine and her grandmother, Cora, who navigate the waters of individual action, intergenerational trauma, and climate anxiety. A masterclass is the power of fiction to show, not tell.
Hot tip: The audiobook narration from Joniece Abbott-Pratt brings the story to life.
Now streaming
A new Louisiana PBS documentary, Ripple Effect, features insights from The Water Collaborative’s Jessica Dandridge-Smith, exploring how continued trauma from climate disasters impacts lives locally. Jessica’s been busy (!) as you can also witness her testify before a recent climate justice roundtable hosted by the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee.
Current-ly
Nicole Kelner’s Art and Climate Change newsletter brings a pop of color and optimism to our week. We love seeing arts and culture intertwine with advocacy for climate solutions and appreciate Nicole’s reflections on her own creative endeavors!
Take action
Communicating the benefits of nature-based solutions
Investing in the good, green stuff — from flood plains to food forests — does double duty for ecosystems and neighborhoods, but nature-based solutions have been traditionally underfunded. Want to make the case for more green space? Get our guide to messaging nature as infrastructure and register here to join Nicole Lampe on September 26 at 10am PT/1pm ET for the latest Water Hub workshop.
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