OUR PRINCIPLES
We acknowledge the intergenerational trauma experienced by the communities we aim to serve and pledge the following commitments to foster healing, justice, and trust.
COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
Our understanding of environmental justice is based on the Principles of Environmental Justice (1) as established by delegates at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held on October 24–27, 1991.
Our vision of youth leadership in environmental justice derives from the Principles of the Youth Environmental Justice Movement(2) and the overview of Youth Leadership in the Environmental Justice Movement (3), as established by youth delegates at the Second National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in Washington, DC on October 26, 2002.
Our commitment to an equitable and inclusive environment is influenced by the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing (4) drafted at the December 1996 meeting hosted by Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice in Jemez, New Mexico.
Our commitment to creating a space for youth, by youth is based on the Youth-to-Youth and Youth-to-Adult Principles of Collaboration (5), drafted by youth delegates at the Second National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit.
COMMUNITY GUIDELINES LINKS
ANTI-OPPRESSION COMMITMENT
At Youth on Root, we don’t just stand against oppression — we are here to uproot it. Our commitment runs deeper than words; it’s action, accountability, and an unapologetic stance against inequity in all forms. We refuse to accept systems that silence, exploit, or harm. Instead, we work boldly to build a world where every voice is heard, every barrier is dismantled, and every individual thrives.
Environmental justice is a direct response to environmental racism, which disproportionately endangers the lives of frontline communities, most often low-income youth of color. This isn’t just about clean air and water — it’s about the survival and dignity of those most impacted. As an environmental justice organization, we are inherently a racial justice organization. Confronting environmental racism means acknowledging the lives on the line and ensuring that no community is left behind in the fight for a sustainable, equitable future.
We are not neutral. Neutrality upholds injustice. We are disruptors of the status quo, champions of justice, and unwavering in our pursuit of collective liberation. This is not just a statement — it’s a promise to confront harm, center those most impacted, and push for transformative, systemic change. Because justice isn’t optional, and the future demands nothing less.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Long before our beloved lands came to be known as “California,” they were stewarded and cared for by native peoples who were subjugated, enslaved, and robbed of their land. In spite of continual attempted genocide, these ascendant peoples live and thrive throughout this state we call home. May we be humbled and grateful for their leadership, and honor their living histories through continued learning and commitment to land rematriation.
As a grassroots organization founded and led by African American descendants of the transatlantic slave trade, we name and honor the complex history many of us have with this land. Our kidnapping and forced labor built and resourced our cities, often through destruction and depletion of natural resources. We know that this is not just history - that these practices are ongoing. Labor exploitation, land theft, enslavement, and environmental destruction continue to fuel the global economy. Youth on Root is committed to our collective liberation through solidarity, collective action, radical imagination, and justice beyond equity.
Our fiscal sponsor’s physical office sits on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the Chumash, Fernandeño Tataviam, Kizh, Micqanaqa’n, and Tongva. We recognize that we benefit from the use and occupation of this land and have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible our project's relationship with Indigenous peoples. By offering this land acknowledgment, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold our project and fiscal sponsor accountable to the needs of Indigenous peoples. This acknowledgment is a commitment to ongoing learning, allyship, and amplification of the voices of Indigenous peoples. To learn more about the original peoples of Los Angeles County and California, refer to Native-Land.ca, a website run by the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Native Land Digital.