This edition marks my last week as The Washington Informer’s full-time climate & environmental justice reporter, a position made possible in large part by the nonprofit Report for America.
Those who know me—and, likely, any readers of the Our Earth section—will not be surprised to learn that I love my work, and this transition is bittersweet. I’m excited to join climate protests and sign pro-transit petitions (things you can’t ethically do as a journalist). But I could not be more grateful for the Washington Informer family and the space this paper has allowed me to carve within the Black press and within the District.
In the last two years reporting on this beat, I’ve gotten to dance to Go-Go music with seniors at Anacostia Park, watch solar panel installations from the roof of a Petworth home and take a wagon ride through a sustainable farm in Upper Marlboro. I’ve been inspired by countless Black activists, academics and professionals in the environmental space, and I’ve grilled local officials about their choices. I’ve knocked on dozens of doors, attended all kinds of events and—most importantly—had hundreds of conversations with DMV residents.
The chance to learn the District through the lens of the Black press is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Washington Informer exemplifies the meaning of community-centered storytelling. That tradition has immense power, especially at a time when the “mainstream” media model is coming apart at the seams.
For almost 60 years, The Informer has served the DMV’s Black communities, sharing stories that don’t appear anywhere else and centering Black experiences within each week’s biggest local headlines.
Our publisher, Denise Rolark Barnes, saw that environmental stories needed to be part of that service. The planet is getting hotter and our understanding of pollution’s harms is getting better—and both of these unfolding global narratives have major implications for Black DMV residents. Just in the last two years, our region has seen flooding, heat waves and unprecedented wildfire smoke.
I’m a white reporter who is hugely passionate about environmental and climate justice. It was an immense privilege to be trusted with these stories, and I’ve learned so much.
Thank you, Washington Informer, for letting me join the family and play a small part in your storied 60-year journey.
And thank you, readers, for following along with two years of Our Earth!