Photo courtesy Fair Future Movement
Fair Future Movement meetup at Hopkins Hollow
Fair Future Movement meetup at Hopkins Hollow
Fair Future Movement is building a multiracial, multicultural community of folks who are passionate about environmental justice. Through an anti-racist, decolonial and intersectional lens, the organization engages those who have faced systemic oppression or have felt excluded from the broader environmentalist movement by way of coalition building with existing organizations, educational programming and collective actions.
We spoke with co-executive directors Mandi McAlister and Jasmine Roberson to learn more about Fair Future Movement’s work.
McAlister is the organization’s founder. After George Floyd’s murder by the Minneapolis Police Department, she had critically evaluated existing organizing spaces and ultimately perceived that a space like Fair Future Movement was necessary.
“I recognized that the traditional environmental community I was involved in was focused more on the planet than people while also separating social and environmental issues. I had seen Leah Thomas, who wrote The Intersectional Environmentalist, call out that social justice was an optional add-on for so many, and I wanted to do what I could to change that.”
Photo courtesy Fair Future Movement
Mandi McAlister and Jasmine Roberson
Mandi McAlister and Jasmine Roberson of Fair Future Movement
Keep it Going
After attending an anti-racist training series led by August Ball, founder of Cream City Conservation, McAlister and David Thomas of Nearby Nature Milwaukee thought about how they could keep that work going.
“I had the idea to have folks read Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad in small book circles,” McAlister continues. “Through that conversation, David connected me with Milwaukee Environmental Consortium, which Brenda Coley was on the board of, and she felt that this was a good idea but that it was important to include action with it. We’re not going to see change without applying what we’re learning, and that’s when we started our Collective Action Alerts.”
Under the mentorship of Sandra Jones, the group began in 2021, having 90 people and 13 organizations join in the first year.
Roberson joined the group in 2023, becoming McAlister’s co-lead and helping rebrand the group as Fair Future Movement. “I have a background in organizing, racial justice and education equity, and I felt that this would be a good way to expand my experience and be more involved in my community,” Roberson explains. “In the time I’ve been involved, I’ve learned so much about environmental justice and how it’s really an umbrella term for a lot of other things. It’s been exhilarating but very useful, and I’ve just been happy to keep learning and bringing new people into our movement.”
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Future for Everyone
On deciding the organization’s name, Roberson continues, “A “fair future” for everyone is what our goal is - all ages, all genders, all backgrounds. We want a community where everyone has everything that they need.”
Fair Future Movement recently earned nonprofit status in May. Having written their official guiding documents, the organization plans to expand existing programming as well as their board of directors. In addition to McAlister and Roberson, Fair Future’s current staff includes facilitator Kyla Smith, and board members include co-chairs Nora Godoy-González and Amber West, secretary Adriana Vázquez and treasurer Detaya Johnson..
The organization works with and amplifies existing environmental and social justice groups in their mission to unite Milwaukee’s community. “There are a lot of organizations taking on specific initiatives and doing incredible work,” McAlister affirms. “What we’re filling is connecting all of them so that we can collaborate - while also being approachable as we engage those who haven’t been traditionally involved or have felt left out.”
Current partnered organizations include Bay Bridge Wisconsin, Sierra Club, Milwaukee Parks Foundation, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Milwaukee Water Commons, River Revitalization Foundation, Nearby Nature Milwaukee, Friends of Lincoln Park, Plastic-Free MKE and others.
Collective Action Alerts
With their biweekly Collective Action Alerts, Fair Future compiles upcoming community efforts that folks may get involved in such as events hosted by partners, local political campaigns and volunteering opportunities. “We want to highlight the work that’s already being done by directly getting folks the information on how they can participate,” McAlister elaborates.
Roberson adds, “It’s important to do the work while also sparking joy in the movement, and I really enjoy that aspect of it.”
Fair Future also facilitates an annual Community Learning Series where they select a book to read at the beginning of each year and host periodic virtual gatherings to discuss what they are learning and how it inspires action. Folks may dive deeper into the text by way of smaller book circles that Fair Future hosts as well.
“I find intersectionality fascinating because it teaches us how so many things align,” Roberson contends. “As a Black woman, I’m realizing where some of those lapses are and how some of the barriers aren't common knowledge. That surprises me sometimes, and I’ll admit that it can be frustrating. But I’d rather be aware so that we can do something about it - as a collective.”
They have quarterly meetups where new and existing members may socialize and get to know one another. Refreshments are always provided. The next one is Wednesday, Aug. 21 at Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, 5:30 p.m. — RSVP here.
Reflecting on Fair Future Movement’s growth in just a few years, McAlister shares, “When I first started this and 90 people were interested and 13 organizations jumped on, we just had a really awesome momentum from there. Everyone has been so awesome and supportive and inspiring. This work is hard, and it’s hard to do consistently. But a lot of the people involved have stayed involved for years and we wouldn’t be here without them. I really appreciate the Milwaukee community. We’re ready to make an impact.”
Visit the Fair Future Movement website at fairfuturemovement.org and follow them on Instagram @fairfuturemovement.
