Nyiesha Mallett is a 24-year-old climate activist, artist, educator and community organizer at UPROSE, a Brooklyn-based organization promoting environmental justice, sustainability and resilience. This year marks Mallett’s 10th year as a part of UPROSE.

A member of the 2021 GRIST 50, a list of climate and justice leaders to watch, Mallett is teaching climate justice, leadership and organizational skills to students from New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

In this Q&A, External Affairs and Communications intern Ridhima Kodali spoke with Mallett about how art, education and grassroots activism intersect within her role as both an organizer and artist.

Q: What sparked your interest in advocacy and how did you become involved with UPROSE?

A: I’ve always had a love for the Earth, I hate seeing people litter and don’t like to see the Earth harmed. I also come from a Caribbean family, so to see the relationship my family in Grenada has with the land always influenced me. I started working with UPROSE at the age of 14 through the Summer Youth Employment Program. I learned how the communities in New York City are carrying the brunt of this crisis – understanding the root of how all the “isms” could be fought off made me want to work towards becoming an activist in every way. Since then, I have been trying to use my art as a way to educate.

Q: How do you see your work as an artist and educator intersect with your current work as a community organizer?

A: The sunflower is the image of the climate movement. It makes us noticeable, it’s symbolic, and it brings people together. All forms of art are important to keeping our culture and people alive, because everything is being taken away from us: our land, our people, our labor, our air, and water. UPROSE had a Climate Justice Lives Here festival last year, and I remember people dancing in the rain to the drums. It kept us together. In every movement, you will be able to find art. We need art in the revolution. My role as an artist is to make sure that we are documenting what’s happening in our time and communicating our beliefs.

Q: How would you say your work at UPROSE influenced your community and environmental policies?

A: UPROSE helped me understand how the world works in terms of how policies are written, accepted, and what it means to be local. We can only do so much, so it’s important to think locally and scale up. There are so many different neighborhoods in New York City, and specifically at UPROSE, we work with Sunset Park. Understanding what’s happening in Sunset Park helped me grasp what’s happening in my communities, as well as other parts of the world, and what solutions are needed. We are all facing the same problems; the solutions might be different, but we don’t have to recreate the wheel. We learn from and use the work our ancestors have done to create this new future we are looking for. Looking for local solutions is super important to me, especially in the world that we are in right now.

Q: How do you think intergenerational leadership can strengthen climate justice and health equity?

A: It’s important because that’s where solutions are coming from. We have never seen a world outside of capitalism and the systems we are living in. We need those people who have lived through it to tell us what they went through. We need the young people to imagine a future where that’s not there. That’s what Intergenerational leadership does to us – it keeps us together.

Q: What are the challenges and opportunities you see in the landscape and your work right now?

A: The older we get, the less we tap into our creativity. It makes me sad because that is the part of us that keeps our cultures alive, no matter what communities we come from. And because there is an attack on higher education, we have to give tools to young people. We are trying to get the post-COVID generation out of their shell and remind them that we are losing a lot through technology.

Q: How would you say your work has changed the way you view power?

A: It makes me ask questions. I no longer walk through this world without thinking, ‘why is this happening, who benefits from this, what is the reason for this.’ I think that’s something that we should all carry. I ask questions through my art, answering questions or posing solutions.