The Stages of Black Climate Grief

12/15/20 • 39 min

1 Listener

A Matter of Degrees

This week, we have a special episode featuring activist and researcher Nikayla Jefferson.

Most of us are in the first stage of climate grief: denial.

But what does it feel like to enter the stage of grief? And how is that grief different for black people?

Even if you’ve seen the impacts of climate change up close, even if you’ve felt the tropical winds whip your cheeks, stood in floodwater knee deep in your own home, watched a fire come down the ridge line, said “wow, I can’t remember a summer this hot” -- you are likely stuck in some state of denial.

In this episode, Nikayla shares her journey breaking through denial and into grief. She also talks with

As a black person, grieving for the planet can look different, feel heavier and more immediate.

Featured in this episode: Nikayla Jefferson, Jacqueline Patterson, and Princella Talley.

Follow our co-hosts and production team:

A Matter of Degrees is a production of Post Script Audio.

For more episodes and transcripts, visit our website.

This week, we have a special episode featuring activist and researcher Nikayla Jefferson.

Most of us are in the first stage of climate grief: denial.

But what does it feel like to enter the stage of grief? And how is that grief different for black people?

In this episode, Nikayla shares her journey breaking through denial and into grief. She also talks with

As a black person, grieving for the planet can look different, feel heavier and more immediate.

Featured in this episode: Nikayla Jefferson, Jacqueline Patterson, and Princella Talley.

Follow our co-hosts and production team:

A Matter of Degrees is a production of Post Script Audio.

For more episodes and transcripts, visit our website.

Previous Episode

Changing Woman: One Navajo’s Fight for a Just Transition

This week, we have a special episode about the long and winding energy transition in an often overlooked place: the Navajo Nation—the largest Indian reservation in the United States.

Journalist and climate policy expert Julian Brave NoiseCat is our guide.

Ten percent of Navajos lack access to electricity. Some spend up to $700 per month on fuels to travel to places with electricity, or charge electronics in their cars and trucks.

But the Navajo Nation isn’t exactly an energy-poor place. In fact, until recently, the reservation was home to two of the largest coal strip mines in the world. In recent decades as many as five coal-burning power plants surrounded Navajo lands. For many Navajo, power lines connecting coal to major cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles, have come to symbolize this vastly unequal system.

We’ll look at the deep history of energy extraction and colonialism that led to the current clean-energy transition for the Navajo people.

Featured in this episode: Wahleah Johns and Andrew Curley.

Follow our co-hosts and production team:

A Matter of Degrees is a production of Post Script Audio.

For more episodes and transcripts, visit our website.

Next Episode

Presenting: How to Save a Planet

We're pleased to introduce an episode of "How to Save a Planet," produced by our friends at Gimlet and Spotify. The show is co-hosted by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Alex Blumberg.

"How to Save a Planet" has a lot of similarities to our own, so we think our listeners will like the stories they tell. In this week's episode: a story about the Black Lives Matter Movement and how the fight for black lives connects with the struggle for climate justice.

Find more of their episodes here. And stay tuned for our final episode of the season, coming soon.