Protecting People & Planet: Climate Justice is Democracy

Climate Justice is Democracy

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Publish Date
September 4, 2025
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Our discussion will spotlight the following leaders who are fighting to make sure our communities flourish alongside the ecosystems that sustain our lives:

Aru Shiney-Ajay is the Executive Director of Sunrise Movement. Aru grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she first started organizing around human rights and marriage equality. In college, Aru joined the fossil fuel divestment campaign, eventually leading the campaign through successful student and faculty resolutions calling for divestment. Aru began running Sunrise's training program as a sophomore in college in 2018 as a nineteen year old, and in 2019 left college to organize with Sunrise, serving as Trainings Director and Deputy Campaign Director, before stepping into the role of Executive Director in 2023.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is the President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advancing civil and human rights through hip-hop culture. Rev is a Senior Advisor for Bloomberg Philanthropies and is one of today’s most innovative advocates for racial and climate justice. He has been recognized as a 2024 Forbes Sustainability Leader, a White House Champion of Change for Climate Leadership, and a "New Green Hero" by Rolling Stone. He executive produced the standup comedy special ‘Ain’t Your Mama’s Heat Wave’ and hosts the award-winning environmental justice podcast The Coolest Show. Above all, he is a devoted father, bringing purpose and passion to both his family and his work.

Vanessa Toro Barragán is a strategist and shaper of change with proven experience facilitating coalitions through obstacles to reach meaningful outcomes. With a deep background in labor and community organizing and expertise as an urban planner, Vanessa develops transformative programs, policies, and plans crafted by community priorities. At the Hive Fund, she implements equitable clean energy grantmaking, which supports organizations to carry out clean energy projects and grow economic and governing power in Texas and Louisiana. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Vanessa was raised and resides in Houston.

‍Moderator: Abdul Dosunmu is a civil rights lawyer and movement builder with roots in Oak Cliff, TX and a national reach. He is the Founder and Chief Strategist of the Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition (YBLOC) and a former appointee of President Barack Obama to the U.S. Department of Transportation. As DOCN’s Leadership and Philanthropic Advocacy Advisor for the Climate Funders Justice Pledge, Abdul works to move the nation’s top climate funders to equitably resource BIPOC-led and serving climate justice movements.

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As the climate crisis accelerates, so do threats to democracy — especially for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. From “sacrifice zones” to voter suppression, the same systems that destabilize the planet also disenfranchise its people. This webinar will dive into the ways in which climate justice and efforts to protect democracy are inextricably linked. Our discussion will spotlight leaders who are fighting to make sure our communities flourish alongside the ecosystems that sustain our lives.

In this session, you can expect the following: 

  • A renewed understanding of the intrinsic links between climate justice efforts and pro-democracy efforts, especially for frontline communities of color 
  • A spotlight on DOCN’s Climate Funders Justice Pledge
  • Insight into funding strategies that are supporting grassroots power-building for BIPOC communities, just economics, and our ecosystems
  • An exploration of the role that donors and philanthropic leaders of color can play in supporting progressive efforts to promote climate justice in today's political landscape

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