Rachel’s Network celebrated its 25th anniversary by announcing a new program to support women leaders of color with long experience in and deep dedication to the environmental movement: the Legacy Award.
“Since 2019, we’ve focused our efforts on mid-career leaders through the Catalyst Award. This is intentional as many women of color face barriers at the mid-point of their careers,” said Rachel’s Network Catalyst Program Director Shreya Durvasula.
“But every year we also see applicants with over 25 years of experience in the movement and wanted to honor their contributions through this new program complementing our continuing Catalyst Award.”
Future Legacy Award winners will be announced every spring, offering movement leaders the opportunity for community building and rest.
The inaugural Legacy Awardees (pictured above, l-r) are:
Anita D. Collins, Urbana Perry Park Neighborhood Planning Assembly, Brunswick, GA
Anita is a fifth generation Gullah/Geechee and the chairperson of the Urbana/Perry Park Neighborhood Planning Assembly. Her experiences include educator, cyclist, youth cycling coach, organizational development, youth leadership development and more. She remains engaged and active in her community for a better quality of life and to dismantle the scourge of environmental injustice, racial inequity, economic inequity, and to advance cultural resilience, social justice, healthcare justice, and mobility justice. Photo: Mary Landers – The Current
Konda Mason, Jubilee Justice, Alexandria, LA
Konda is a social entrepreneur, finance activist, earth and social justice activist and mindfulness teacher. She is the co-founder and president of Jubilee Justice, Inc, a nonprofit working to bring climate resilient farming and economic equity to BIPOC farmers in the rural South to restore and accelerate Black land ownership and stewardship and create thriving Black farming communities.
Queen Zakia Shabazz, United Parents Against Lead, Petersburg, VA
Queen Zakia is an author, educator, lecturer, and environmental justice advocate. Her work began in 1996 when she discovered that her young son had been poisoned by lead, prompting her to establish United Parents Against Lead (UPAL). UPAL is a national networking organization for parents of children poisoned by lead that works to end the threat of lead poisoning and other environmental hazards through education and awareness, advocacy, intervention, and resource referral.
Kolu Zigbi, New York, NY
Kolu Zigbi serves as a re-sorceress, strategist, connector, facilitator, and catalyst for social and environmental justice, with a focus on collective governance of land and financial resources by BIPOC and marginalized communities. She believes in solidarity more than charity and promotes liberatory power. Kolu works with grassroots groups and funders to activate participatory grantmaking, develop blended capital strategies, and build values-driven collaborative cultures. She co-founded Community Food Funders, supporting a socially just and ecologically sound foodshed for the NYC region, and Southern Black Farmers’ Community-Led Fund, through which grassroots leaders resource their own ecosystems in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
The inaugural Legacy awardees will participate in a week-long retreat in Dakar, Senegal, hosted by organizer Dr. P. Qasimah Boston. There, they will meet social justice leaders, connect with each other, and have space for reflection, learning, and rest. This experience is intended to provide grounding and wellbeing for long-time environmental leaders who have given so much to their communities.
The retreat is rooted in the Senegalese concept of Teranga which embodies hospitality, generosity, and caring. Teranga encourages individuals to build meaningful relationships and create a supportive community. By embracing Teranga, people are inspired to engage in acts of giving and compassion, which can significantly boost their sense of purpose and happiness.
“My hope for this experience is to connect deeply with the work being done in the Global South, to learn from the leaders there and from the other cohort members on the trip and to really focus on rest and renewal. I hope to return home with a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration,” said Legacy Awardee Konda Mason.
To support this program and others supporting women environmental leaders of color, contribute to the Catalyst Award here.