Washington, D.C., August 17, 2024 – This month’s IMPACT Club meeting was an exciting one. Members of the club gave updates on impactful advocacy work that is being done in their various communities. The presentation on Blake’s Plateau given by Charles Morrison was informative and impactful. This helped the group to identify key advocacy strategies to help push for more protection in this eco-marine region of the United States. Goldwater Ventures CEO, A. Prince Albert III also announced his new project - The Culture Keepers Movement.
Charles Morrison, an ardent environmental advocate and member of the Goldwater IMPACT Club, provided an in-depth look at his current efforts to protect Blake’s Plateau, a vital ecological and cultural region along the southeastern coast of the United States. Recently, Morrison participated in a three-day advocacy training in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Healthy Oceans Coalition, where he honed his skills in environmental policy advocacy and best practices for driving change.
Blakes Plateau, which stretches from the southern U.S. towards Canada, is an area of immense ecological importance. The region is rich in minerals like cobalt, which are crucial for powering modern technologies such as smartphones and batteries. Additionally, the Plateau is home to extensive coral reef systems that play a critical role in marine biodiversity. Beyond its ecological significance, Blake’s Plateau holds deep cultural and spiritual value for Indigenous communities, including the Gullah/Geechee, Timucua, and Cherokee Nation, who have long-standing connections to the land and sea in this region.
Morrison emphasized the urgent need to protect Blake’s Plateau from the threats of resource extraction and environmental degradation. "The extraction of minerals and resources from Blake’s Plateau not only endangers the delicate marine ecosystems but also jeopardizes the cultural heritage and spiritual practices of the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land for generations," Morrison stated. He is currently working on a public comment focused on advocating for the designation of Blake’s Plateau as a marine protected area, a critical step in preserving both the environment and the cultural legacy tied to it.
In support of his mission, Morrison interviewed A. Prince Albert III, who also highlighted the importance of Blake’s Plateau during a speech at Ocean Week in Washington, D.C. Both Morrison and Prince Albert III agreed on the need for greater protection of this region. "Even protecting 20% of Blake’s Plateau would be a significant step towards saving the land, people, and lifeways that have been integral to the cultural fabric of Indigenous communities along the coast," Morrison added.
Morrison’s advocacy is also informed by his commitment to defending Indigenous rights and ecological sustainability. He sees the protection of Blake’s Plateau as part of a broader movement to resist the exploitation of natural resources that disproportionately impacts Indigenous communities. "My work with the Healthy Oceans Coalition and the advocacy for Blake’s Plateau is about more than just environmental protection; it’s about safeguarding the rights, traditions, and futures of the people who are most connected to this land," Morrison explained.
A. Prince Albert III, founder of Goldwater Ventures, unveiled his latest initiative, the Culture Keepers Movement. Goldwater Ventures is a full-service cultural sustainability firm which offers advisory and media services to institutions engaging with cultural communities. The Culture Keepers Movement aims to become the world’s leading platform for resourcing and sharing ongoing sustainability efforts within African-descendant, Indigenous, Latinx, and other cultural communities.
Prince described cultural sustainability as a process that allows communities to continue their traditions with dignity and integrity. He emphasized,
To me, cultural sustainability is not other people taking our culture and just using it for what they want to or putting it up in a museum. It is us continuing to live the ways that we always have with some kind of integrity and dignity. So cultural sustainability is ‘helping me to continue my traditions and continuing them because they don't exist without me.'
A. Prince Albert III outlined several challenges to cultural sustainability, including environmental degradation, food insecurity, economic instability, and the disproportionate deployment of internet and emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, etc. To address these issues, he proposed a range of solutions to the group:
Indigenous-led ecological restoration
Sustainable subsistence food practices to improve health and well-being
Combining traditional wellness systems with modern medicine
Forming agricultural advocacy coalitions, exemplified by Morrison's work with the Healthy Oceans Coalition
A key component of the Culture Keepers Movement is the establishment of the Culture Keeper Fund, a $50 Million fund dedicated to supporting the vast cultural sustainability efforts. Once fundraising goals are met, the Fund will support the creation of a 'Goldwater Center for Cultural Sustainability' in New York City.
Prince also highlighted the launch of the Culture Keepers Circle, a grassroots network of culture keepers of African, Indigenous, and Latiné/a/o/x descent. This network aims to facilitate the sharing of cultural sustainability efforts and celebrate the work of culture keepers. Prince explained, “A culture keeper is anyone of and from our cultural communities who is actively working to maintain, protect, and educate the wider world on their lifeways.”
Citation
Goldater Ventures, Goldwater IMPACT Club’s August Meeting explores The Culture Keepers Movement and firm's Blake Plateau Advoacy (August 21, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/goldwater-impact-club-s-august-meeting-explores-the-culture-keepers-movement-and-firm-s-blake-platea.
References
Goldwater IMPACT Club, https://www.goldwaterventures.info/outreach/.
Goldwater Ventures, IMPACT Club April Meeting Explored New Economic Systems & IP Innovations (April 15, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/impact-club-april-meeting-explored-new-economic-systems-ip-innovations/.
Goldwater Ventures, Goldwater Ventures Launches The Culture Keepers Movement (August 7, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/goldwater-ventures-launches-the-culture-keepers-movement
Goldwater Ventures, Goldwater Ventures Joins the Fight to Protect Blake Plateau (Aug. 21, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/goldwater-ventures-joins-the-fight-to-protect-blake-plateau.
Goldwater Ventures, Revitalizing and Sustaining Communities: Goldwater IMPACT Club’s June Meeting focused on Preserving Cultural and Communal Heritage (June 21, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/goldwater-impact-club-s-june-meeting-focused-on-preserving-cultural-and-communal-heritage.
Goldwater Ventures, IMPACT Club April Meeting Explored New Economic Systems & IP Innovations (April 15, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/impact-club-april-meeting-explored-new-economic-systems-ip-innovations/.
Goldwater Ventures, Launching the Inaugural Goldwater IMPACT Club 'SIG Team 6' Cohort (Mar. 4, 2024), https://www.goldwaterventures.info/post/launching-the-inaugural-goldwater-impact-club.
Comments