Barriers to Young People of Colour in Climate Activism: a Case Study of School Strike 4 Climate

The youth-led climate movement, initiated by Greta Thunberg in 2018, has garnered widespread global recognition Neas et al. (Frontiers in Political Science, 4, 2022). In the Australian context, relatively few scholars have examined the engagement of young People of Colour (YPOC) in School Strike 4 Climate (the largest organisation in the movement in Australia). This article responds to calls to further investigate the role of race and whiteness in the youth climate movement (see also Abhayawickrama et al. 2024; Talukdar, 2022) and does so by examining how barriers were constructed for YPOC engaging in the organisation. This article focuses onthe framing of who was impacted by climate change within the Sydney sub-group. Drawing on organisational materials, interviews found in grey literature, and public statements, this article demonstrates barriers emerged from an epistemic divide between YPOC and white strikers due to differing knowledge and lived experiences, which rendered YPOC perspectives largely invisible across the organisation’s official communication channels. This analysis is informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and decolonial thought.