Halston Sleets: The Right to Clean and Healthy Environments

Halston Sleets is an up-and-coming trailblazer of the Environmental Justice movement. In eight years she has accomplished more than some do in their entire career. Interviewing Halston was an honor. As she talked about the issues she cared so deeply about, I could see the fire in her eyes. It must be what keeps her going. Halston is working on diversifying the field of environmentalism, a monumental task for more reasons than one. Despite often being the only person of color in her office, she remains confident and continues to fight for the future she believes in. She has done this through a series of impressive jobs, including Contract Management Specialist for the National Park Service in Denali National Park, planning analyst for Hennepin County, Senior Policy Aide for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (for the Mayor of Minneapolis) and most recently as the Manager of Sustainability for Best Buy. When asked about her work, Halston described it by saying: “The work I do addresses the intersections between the environment and equity. So with all my work and the various projects and positions I’ve had, I’ve advocated and amplified the voices of marginalized people.”

Halston started her career in Environmental Justice eight years ago. Since then her achievements have captured the attention of notable news sources including NPR and the Huffington Post. Halston joined the Environmental Justice movement because she saw an absence of people of color in policy making and environmental planning. Although the work is sometimes lonely, she perseveres.

Halston’s experience of being under-represented in her field is backed up by research. A study executed by Green 2.0 found that people of color only make up 27% percent of full-time staff and 14% of senior staff in Environmental NGOs. The study found that these numbers are overall lower than other areas of the financial sector, making it an Environmental Justice-specific issue.

“White mainstream environmental organizations that say they want to do something about justice but they don’t take a strong enough stance. They don’t hire people of color to do the directing work. They hire people of color to do the organizing work. That’s bad for us. If we want these policies and measures and practices to be sustainable we have to start with centering voices who are marginalized and impacted the most.”

In her career, Halston has personally felt the neglect of equity within environmentalism. One of her first jobs out of college was as a Contract Management Specialist for Denali National Park. During her time there, she experienced the same discomfort many people of color face of being the only ethnically diverse people in the room. She noticed differences down to the uniform she was forced to wear.

“While I was at the park service, the memories I have show me that that space was never created with my body in mind. The uniforms did not fit my body. They weren’t made for women’s bodies in general, especially women of color.”

Historically, when women were first permitted to work for the park service they were given non-functional ‘female’ versions of the uniforms their male counterparts had been wearing. Now they wear the same more functional uniforms as the men, but these uniforms are often ill-fitting on a typically female body. Uniforms weren’t the only negative aspect of her experience there.

“I had to leave. There’s only so much you can take. I think the National Park needs to reform. It’s a really toxic place. It’s male-oriented and white dominated… I don’t ever see myself going back to that park. But I would like more pathways of access.”

In 2017 only 7% of National Park visitors were Black. Halston attributed this to the location of parks, which make it inaccessible for many populations to get there. There is also an issue with the lack of acknowledgment of the trauma and pain experienced on the land. National parks haven’t always been so serene. Their origin includes a dark history of forcefully removing Indigenous people from their homes. Halston believes that without proper acknowledgment of this history, the pain and trauma that occurred there will continue to affect Black and Indigenous persons of color who visit.

After her work for Denali National Park, Halston moved back to Saint Paul. When asked about other environmental justice issues facing her community, Halston mentioned air quality. On average, Black people are three times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than white people are. “Air quality in terms of where the neighborhoods are located to I-94… We have air pollution in North Minneapolis that [gives] brown kids asthma.” High asthma rates in communities of color expand far beyond Saint Paul. On average, Black people are three times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than white people are. This issue can be attributed to the historically racist placement of environmental hazards (i.e. landfills, toxic waste, etc). Halston said that many forget to consider that the locations of neighborhoods can also play a factor in the quality of air both outdoors and indoors. She believes these issues have become so severe because policymakers don’t acknowledge that people are part of the environment. Therefore when polluting companies choose to locate their factories in neighborhoods with high percentages of people of color, their health is threatened even in their own homes.

Health is not the only Environmental Justice issue concerning her community. Environmental gentrification, or the influx of wealthy residents into historically disenfranchised minority neighborhoods due to new “green developments”, is becoming a large concern for many communities in St. Paul.

“My neighborhood doesn’t look the way it used to look. We have stadiums coming in, and green space coming in… When that happens we have a rise in property values. They buy land that’s cheap and displace the folks who were originally there. That’s one issue I think isn’t being addressed adequately.”

While discussing this issue Halston mentioned the Upper Harbor Terminal in North Minneapolis, a large development project along the Mississippi River. The project has received some public backlash. Critics of the project point out that it does little to help the community that actually lives there, and if anything the proposed plan will only result in current residents being forced to leave. The proposed project includes a privately owned outdoor concert venue, a privately owned hotel and 19.5 acres of parkland (a reduced amount from Upper Harbor’s original plan of 28 acres). While there has been community outreach concerning this project, much of it has been surveys, a form of outreach known to be biased.

With all these issues, most people would feel defeated—but not Halston. She continually works to break down the barriers holding her and other people of color back. “If I’m not going to do it, who’s going to do it?”When asked what keeps her going she replied, “If I’m not going to do it, who’s going to do it?” Halston wants to ensure a better future for brown and Indigenous children. Her work is constantly driven by the thought of helping them. She expressed how even “small” environmental justice issues like asthma can impact a child’s life forever.

“It’s a ripple effect… How damaged one person can become because they have lead paint in their house or have poor air quality that causes them to have asthma.”

Halston mentioned that children of color are easily villainized. Simply missing school due to an asthma attack stacks the odds against them.

“It starts with the inability to breathe… A basic human right that is not being protected or actualized at all.”

That is why Halston is so involved in Environmental Justice. She no longer wants people of color’s experience with the environment to be such a harsh one.

“My work with Environmental Justice has helped me establish a connection that is genuine, that is organic, that is mine to own. And it [has given me the opportunity] to restore justice to folks that didn’t have it 400 years ago and still don’t have it today. It is life-giving for me to be able to protect and advocate for folks who would have never seen this.”

Halston is an inspiration for many, myself included. Courageous, she continues to be a prominent voice in a field that is not always receptive to diverse perspectives.

Her advice for activists is split into advice for her fellow Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOCs), and advice to white activists trying to get involved in the movement.

“My advice to my BIPOCs is stay in the work, make it less lonely. It’s really difficult to persevere when pushing for change and being the only equity voice in a room with folks who have never lived that experience and don’t understand it and try to dismiss your reality as a BIPOC… It may be lonely and it may feel like you’re pushing a rock up the mountain. However, you have a ton of other people behind you so continue to push and advance change as much as you can.”

For white people, her advice was to stick with the work.

“You can’t come into an organization or community for three months on your summer break and then leave. If you’re going to involve yourself really involve yourself. Stay in the community, become an ally, and don’t always take the lead on projects, but lift up folks of color to take the lead on projects.”

She also emphasized education. As a POC it is not Halston’s job to educate white people on the environmental injustices. Her advice to white activists, such as myself, is to use our time and energy educating people. Using our personal privilege to shed light on these issues is one of the easiest ways to get involved.

Interviewing Halston was an honor. As I was leaving, I felt a new sense of purpose. Discouragement comes so easily in a field like environmentalism, and Environmental Justice is no exception. Interviewing Halston made me more keenly aware of my place in this movement. Many times we become so passionate about something we see it as our job to “grab the torch” and take the lead, to shout so loud that no one can ignore us. But with cases like this, with environmental justice issues so deeply embedded into society, I know my place is to support and to amplify other voices. Voices who have been holding the torch for years and will continue to hold it until there is no longer a need for extra light. Halston is one of many environmentalists holding this metaphorical torch, and I am proud to declare myself an advocate of her movement.

References

“Halston Sleets.” ​Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://www.mncenter.org/halston-sleets.html.

Koscher, Ella. “Whitewashed: The Lack of Diversity in Environmental Studies.” Columbia Daily Spectator. November 21, 2017. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.columbiaspectator.com/the-eye/2017/11/21/whitewashed-the-lack-of-diversity-in-environmental-studies/.

Motavvef, Athena. “7 Reasons Why Asthma Is an Environmental Justice Crisis | WE ACT.” WE ACT for Environmental Justice. May 30, 2017. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.weact.org/2017/05/7-reasons-asthma-environmental-justice-crisis/.

Rigolon, Alessandro, and Jeremy Németh. “Were Not in the Business of Housing:” Environmental Gentrification and the Monprofitization of Green Infrastructure Projects.” Cities 81 (2018): 71-80. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2018.03.016.

Root, Tik. “Changing the Face of National Parks.” National Geographic. April 02, 2018. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/02/diversity-in-national-parks/.