For Gloria Walton, Climate Justice Starts with Collective Care

Who are three women than inspire you?

I’m a part of an intersectional and intergenerational movement for climate justice, therefore I am surrounded by fierce and admirable women, so picking 3 feels impossible!

I immediately think about my Mom and Grandmother who loved and supported me unconditionally; literary geniuses like Octavia E. Butler, Zara Neale Hurston, Gloria Anzaldua, Bell Hooks, Ntozake Shange, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Assata Shakur and many more who capture the beauty and humanity of the Black experience, while inspiring radical imagination and an analysis for justice; to phenomenal women that leverage their platform to lift up other women — Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Oprah; to all the grassroots women leaders who taught me about building and exercising collective power, action, and community-led change.

As we look to the future, what is one key change or innovation you believe is essential for advancing equality and empowerment in your field?

As we navigate through this moment and look toward the future, I believe a critical change for advancing equity and justice is to lead with love. If we cultivate a deeper love for humanity and our shared planet, and understand our interdependence, we can revitalize, reorganize, and build systems that uplift everyone. Love compels us to be inclusive and center the most impacted, foster strategic collaboration, and radically reimagine intersectional solutions rooted in care, leaving no one behind. When love is the foundation and our actions are guided by it, true equity and empowerment become possible.