On an unseasonably warm autumn night, hundreds of people gathered at Detroit’s historic Garden Theater for “What If We Get It Right?” a convening hosted by Urban Consulate with support from The Kresge Foundation. The elegant theater provided a backdrop for a vibrant discussion between writer-climate scientist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and writer-activist adrienne maree brown (both of whom have recent books), facilitated by Detroit journalist and community advocate Orlando P. Bailey. The conversation called on all of us to find our role in advancing the movement for environmental justice through the lens of interdependence and collective effort.

The Oct. 30 event, which felt like a vulnerable and nurturing gathering among close friends, was infused with joy, laughter and love. The call for equitable climate justice was undergirded by a drive toward action and an emphasis on relationships and care. A key message was clear: No matter your talents and profession, you have a vital role to play in the joint effort to secure an equitable and livable future on our planet.

Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of the Kresge Foundation’s Detroit Program, introduced the evening. She noted that this event marks the beginning of a new joint Kresge-Urban Consulate series called “The Next Decade: Daring Ideas for the Future,” with additional events to be announced for 2025. After acknowledging the historic land stewardship of the Anishinaabe people and welcoming Detroit changemakers in the room, Jackson passed the microphone to Bailey to kick off the discussion.

Bailey began by asking the speakers a question he attributed to the late Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs: “What time is it on the clock of the world, and what is on your hearts this evening?” Drawing on her experience as a doula, brown introduced a metaphor of a birthing journey that would recur throughout the conversation. Seemingly divergent emotions like joy and grief are not antithetical, she reminded listeners. Labor is painful and exhausting — but with it, the joy of new life is possible. “There is always a time when the mother says, I’m done, I don’t want to do it anymore,” brown said, speaking of her experience in supporting childbirth. Similarly, the clock of the world may show a time of weariness and sorrow, and it may be hard to keep pushing — and yet by working in community, we can hold a space for trust and possibility.

The discussion grounded equitable climate justice work in a sense of place and history. Both brown and Johnson exchanged joyful perceptions of two areas: Detroit, where brown once lived, and Maine, where Johnson now lives. Each reminisced about the comfort they found in the culture and routines of each community. The lands’ pasts and presents modeled resilience and fusion: from the interracial thriving of Maine fishing communities and black land ownership in Casco Bay islands to the inspiring density of teachers and leaders in Detroit.

Reflecting on their family backgrounds, brown and Johnson noted that they were both raised in mixed-race families with white mothers and Black fathers. When Johnson and brown’s parents were married, unions across racial lines were only recently decriminalized in all states (by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1967 Loving decision.) and still often meant defying social norms and family expectations. Their marriages brought together people whose communities saw each other through a lens of difference, divided by race, religion and culture. Yet, they chose each other, holding this complexity with the determination to blend lives and see beyond the boundaries of “us” and “them” to build something enduring and shared.

As a mixed person carrying both privilege and oppression, brown explains, binary ways of seeing the world feel strange and limiting. The rich experience of mixing teaches us to hold space for contrasting ideas, opinions, and emotions within ourselves and within communities. Many of our families and communities reflect a mosaic of perspectives, beliefs, and contradictions. We may disagree, but we don’t leave each other behind. Citing brown’s recent book, Loving Corrections, the speakers reflected on the critical need to guide one another with care, striving for understanding rather than judgment. We need each other, and through constructive dialogue, we gain insight and growth.

In the same way, we need a variety of perspectives and talents to move climate work forward. One of the event’s calls to action was to welcome as many people into the work as possible, knowing that all skills are needed and all perspectives are valuable, and that each person has a contribution that only they can make. To Johnson’s remark that we are in a pivotal moment of collective wisdom, brown replied that “none of us have the answer, but all of us have part of the answer.” Each action we take builds strength, moving us from fragility to fortitude. Each partial answer, each step, each voice is crucial to building the world we want to see.

And while our communities can be our sanctuaries, says brown, they are also our practice grounds, and we must be willing to have hard conversations within them. These relationships are not ancillary; they are central. As brown reminded listeners, movement work matters only to the extent that it happens in community: “It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are, what you think, or how brilliant your vision for the future is. If you can’t compel anyone else to join you in that walk, it doesn’t matter.” No individual can do movement work on their own.

Johnson described the climate movement as “the work of generations,” noting that “it’s not about being a savior — I just need to make ripples.” Even a small action can have powerful influence, as we see in the ripples that expand from the tiniest stone that breaks the water’s surface. Moreover, each individual has something unique to bring — their own particular skills, affinities, interests and relationships. As brown put it, “There is room here for you.” Johnson draws on this lens in her book, What If We Get It Right, using a Venn diagram to help readers see where they can have the greatest impact in climate justice work.

Amidst playful and familial banter, speakers also emphasized pragmatism and action. The speakers described the importance of letting go of obsessions about outcomes, and instead finding our place in actions that matter. Bailey recalled the end of Johnson’s book, where she calls not for hope, but for strategy. This emphasis on strategic action is in fact one way that we can thrive with or without optimism. By acting in alignment with the transformations we hope to create, we make breakthroughs possible, one step at a time. The key is to remain attuned and responsive to the needs of the moment. Returning to the metaphor of birth, brown illustrated how there might be times that are precarious and unpredictable — perhaps the baby is tangled in its umbilical cord — and we need to make an urgent pivot. But with patience and presence, eventually, when the time is right, the baby comes.

After the facilitated discussion, the event became uniquely interactive: Johnson and brown posed questions for the audience to answer. “What’s keeping you from having the loving correction conversation you know you need to have?” brown asked the audience. One guest shared exhaustion with the constant demand to answer questions and defend their perspectives. The speakers, facilitator and audience members acknowledged and validated feelings of overwhelm with care. Johnson acknowledged that our emotions, institutions and technology have not advanced in unison, and we should accept our limits while learning about and testing them. As audience members shared personal stories and emotions, the importance of the nurturing and vulnerable space created by the event became clear. Members of the gathering found inspiration in the feeling of love for the planet and for each other.

Johnson invited the group to share “glimmers of what it means to get it right here in Detroit.” The room was filled with Detroit changemakers who embody how efforts centered on equity are driving progress. At the meet-and-greet prior to the event, many had enthusiastically shared how their work contributes to climate justice. Institutions such as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History model sustainability strategies and coalitions like Zero Waste Detroit champion change. Synchronously, advocates such as Building Community Voice pursue justice in land use and development, while the Mama Akua Community House plays a crucial role in fostering Black determination.

During the Q&A, Bailey also highlighted that initiatives supporting food sovereignty have helped make Detroit a national leader in urban agriculture. Myrtle Thompson-Curtis, affectionately known as Mama Myrtle and a leader in that movement, echoed the sentiment of synergistic action in response to Johnson’s question: “There are millions of us, and we all have a piece.” Each organization has its own goals, its own areas of focus — and each ripple that they create adds to a wave of change that is building now and may crest in future generations.

The Kresge Foundation has embraced this multigenerational approach, through grantmaking and strategic investing to support not only specific projects, but also robust capacity building. This discussion provided a moment to celebrate, reflect and look ahead.

One thing is clear: Any movement committed to lasting change must place climate justice, equity, and racial justice at its core. These values serve as the steady foundation that keeps the movement resilient and adaptable in the face of evolving challenges. Johnson closed with a powerful image, likening the movement to a butterfly that relies on all four of its winglets: resistance, reform, building and healing. Only when all four are present can we have balance and move forward.

Sheba Rivera is deputy director at Four Corners Global Consulting Group.