Enivronmental Activism

Ameren Missouri officials announced Monday that the company will invest nearly $8 billion in renewable energy over the next 20 years. Ameren plans to retire its coal-fired coal plants by 2042.

Black people and other minorities who work for mainstream environmental advocacy organizations in the St. Louis region struggle to fit in and make their ideas heard. But without them, environmental organizations are ill-equipped to serve communities of color.

The Sierra Club, the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and other St. Louis-area environmental groups have released public statements to express support for the Black Lives Matter movement. But the largely white organizations, which focus on policy and outdoor recreation, have found it difficult to address environmental problems that affect predominantly black St. Louis neighborhoods.