American Climate Leadership Awards 2023 Winner Addresses Loss & Damage, Tackles Preparedness Too
Mississippi’s Cooperation Jackson Recognized for Taking on Climate Reparations, Climate Emergency Preparedness Work Along with Runner-Up Mothers Out Front
There is unique power in communities that have endured injustices coming together for radical change. This year’s American Climate Leadership Awards winner — Cooperation Jackson — represents the people of Jackson, Mississippi who have endured merciless impacts from climate challenges. Cooperation Jackson took home $50,000 to help advance their crucial work on the Jackson Just Transition Plan — an overall climate, ecological, and social transition process in Jackson and beyond that is centered on prioritizing justice for worker oppressed marginalized communities through organizing and institution-building.
A Black-led organization, with an all-Black staff, Cooperation Jackson was intentionally designed to address the injustices of chattel slavery, segregation, and racial discrimination. Cooperation Jackson — which operates in one of the most economically depressed areas in the United States — has several cooperatives within its network which span a lawn business, an organic vegetable farm, and a center for community production. The cooperatives operate with ecological sustainability as a mission while contributing to poverty reduction. Cooperation Jackson also owns three hectares of land, run as a community land trust.
Runner-Up Making Great Gains
Runner-up Mothers Out Front stood out from this year’s nearly 150 applicants. The Cambridge Massachusetts-based national organization is a multi-racial, cross-class movement of mothers, grandmothers and caregivers who are carrying out strategic campaigns to shift from dirty to clean energy at the local and state levels. They won $25,000 as this year’s runner-up.
Counting more than 37,600 people, with members organizing within 41 local teams across multiple states, that includes on-the-ground organizers in Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, California, and Colorado, Mothers Out Front supports women in ensuring a healthier future for their children and grandchildren.
Their impressive track record caught the judges’ attention for their local campaigns which inform statewide strategies and are designed to raise awareness and influence public narratives. Mothers Out Front provides local teams support infrastructure that includes training, coaching, digital as well as in-person engagement, coordination of actions and events, communications, branding, and fundraising to successfully influence policy.
Learn more about Cooperation Jackson, Mothers Out Front and the remaining 8 finalists — who each took home $10,000 and will be connected via a new online platform Mobilize to grow their networks and accelerate their impact through peer-to-peer learning — by watching this year’s awards show and reading the 2023 replication guide series.
Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2023 on YouTube
The purpose of the American Climate Leadership Awards, hosted by ecoAmerica, is to recognize, reward, and share best practices on climate change advocacy and action nationwide. The Awards provide money, support, and recognition for real climate leadership. Individuals and organizations selected as semifinalists have achieved success in building some meaningful political resolve for climate action at local, regional, and national levels, in ways that are replicable, while demonstrating diversity, inclusion, and justice. If you have questions, you can contact us at acla@ecoamerica.org.
About ecoAmerica
ecoAmerica is moving society toward climate solutions by inspiring and empowering trusted national health, faith, and civic institutions and their millions of stakeholders across America to visibly act and advocate.We help national mainstream organizations elevate their climate leadership, providing them with strategy, tools, and resources to demonstrate visible climate leadership, empower climate literacy, engage all constituents, and build collective action and advocacy. We help our partners transform into national climate leaders to inspire others on solutions. ecoAmerica.org