Mary Black

Narrative Strategy and Strategic Communications Manager

Mary Black is an environmental liberation advocate, climate storyteller, content creator, artist, and Afrofuturist from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her intersectional work focuses on bridging the gap between Black, Indigenous liberation, and climate justice while cultivating youth and women for intersectional climate action. Mary believes that the key to environmental liberation and the end to climate crisis comes through centering people closest to the problem, closest to the power. For Mary, this means organizing, educating, and advocating at the intersections of race, climate, and the creation of communities that are free to envision themselves free from systemic oppression.

After graduating from North Carolina A&T State University with a degree in environmental studies, she faced challenges due to the structural racism within the green field. From this experience, she began to envision alternative futures through transformative solutions for the communities most impacted by environmental injustice. This led her to co-create the Radial Futurist Lab with fellow climate activists of marginalized identities.

Mary currently sits on the Environmental Advisory Board for the city of Raleigh as the youngest member, where she represents the perspectives of marginalized communities during board discussions for recommendations of the city’s strategic environmental plan. She is an avid digital artist and is currently finishing a series called “Policing and Pollution.” In her free time, Mary loves to explore her city, hike, tend to her growing collection of house plants, and read mystery novels.