What is your name?

My name is Charles O Brown

What school do you attend and what is your year and major?

I am currently a political science major going into my junior year at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN

Why are you a part of the youth climate movement?

How did you get involved? I became involved in the climate change movement after getting involved with Gateway 2 Heritage at Tennessee State University. After joining and eventually becoming president of Gateway 2 Heritage, I began to realize even more that our habits as humans can and many times do have a negative impact on the climate which ultimately comes back and effects us—particularly blacks and minorities worse than others due to serious flaws in policies.

What is the current feeling towards the green movement and environmental justice on your campus and in your campus community?

Right now I would say more and more students are beginning to know that the green and environmental justice movements ARE real and ARE the wave of the future.

How are you working to improve the environmental conditions of your school and/or community?

Through my work with Gateway 2 Heritage at TSU, we currently have an emphasis on recycling through our extensive paper-recycling program and we’re just involved in helping TSU expand our recycling through a new neighborhood-recycling center on our campus. Along with recycling we also focus on community esteem building through community clean ups in partnership with other students from Fisk University. Also, I work with Earth Matters Tennessee, which is a community organization in Nashville that focuses on community gardening.

What do you think have been and will be your biggest obstacles to success?

One of the biggest obstacles we face in this movement is not getting the proper attention we deserve, particularly from whites. Even though there are some blacks in the movement for the most part they aren’t given the recognition they deserve. Also, one of the biggest obstacles we face is making sure people take us seriously. Another obstacle is the fact that we need to involve more blacks and minorities in the movement as a whole.

What advice do you have for other students of color who are or would like to get involved in the youth climate movement?

Remember, it’s more than service it’s a movement! Sometimes the road gets rough and you may not always get the proper recognition you deserve, but remember, you are not alone! Whenever I get down and feel my efforts are in vain, I always try to remind myself that I am not the only student of color who wants to make a difference in the world we live in by protecting the environment we live in.