Engage, Connect, Protect

Reviews

"Angelou Ezeilo with Nick Chiles offers an accessible guide to respond to the inequities faced by persons of color marginalized by mainstream environmentalism. All of the chapters provide invaluable tools including 'Activating a New Generation.' Readers have practical tools for doing diverse environmental work."
— Rev. Dr. Dianne Glave, author, Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage

"Engage, Connect, Protect challenges hypocrisies and challenges all of us in positions of leadership — from the private, public, and social profit sectors — to get comfortable with looking in the mirror to open doors and create cultures where underrepresented people can be vulnerable, authentic, and can feel...safe. Part memoir, part history lesson, part manifesto, this work highlights the cultural connection to nature that black and brown people have always had, and the need, for the sake of our physical, mental, and spiritual health, for it to be reclaimed."
— Kamilah Martin, Global Youth Educator and Vice President at the Jane Goodall Institute

"As climate change and race dominate the national dialogue in the United States, Angelou Ezeilo's Engage, Connect, Protect is right on time. Ms. Ezeilo artfully articulates the obscured problem of racism in the country's environmental movement and unapologetically sets forth solutions that loom to benefit all of us and the planet."
— Elaine Brown, author, The Condemnation of Little B and A Taste of Power, slated for film production by Robbie Brenner Productions and Netflix, Fall 2019.

"Engage, Connect, Protect is a delightful critique of the pervasive myth that communities of color — namely African American, Latino, and Native American communities — are not as engaged in the fight for environmental justice as their white counterparts. Angelou Ezeilo shows us that people of color, those usually left out of the climate discussion, are working hard to ensure that we preserve this amazing planet of ours. Ezeilo's commitment to engaging and centering youths of color in the fight against climate catastrophe is pivotal to engendering passionate advocates from all walks of life."
— Kibiriti Majuto, student organizer, Virginia Student Power Network

"As one who has been with Angelou since the beginning — she called me from New Jersey to discuss the need she saw for this work in Atlanta — I have observed its perfect evolution and the breathtaking new dimensions it has charted. How proud I am to declare wherever we're speaking, 'If you're looking for young people of color who are ready to take their place in stewardship of our public lands, call Greening Youth!' Congratulations!"
— Audrey Peterman, author, Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care

"Ezeilo's book is powerful, personal and practical. Speaking truth to power, she engages our hearts while challenging our comfort zones as it relates to race and the environment. She reminds of what's at stake with the only home we all know and what becomes possible if we take risks that challenge the status quo. What's that saying — when you know different, you can do different? Well, read this book and let's get started!'"
— Carolyn Finney, Ph.D. author, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors