Source
Sierra Club
Sierra Club Equity Language Guide
Access posture: private mirror link out · 404
About
The Sierra Club is the oldest and one of the largest grassroots environmental organizations in the United States, founded in 1892. In recent decades it has engaged publicly with the relationship between environmentalism and equity — including acknowledgment of its own founder John Muir’s documented racist views — and the 2021 Equity Language Guide was part of that broader internal reckoning.
The Equity Language Guide (2021) is an internal-facing communications resource that covers terminology across 17 topic areas, including ableism, ageism, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, immigrants and refugees, tribal sovereignty and public lands, and the organization’s own history on issues like immigration and conservation. It includes an explicit “On Our Opposition” section and a “Visual Imagery” chapter covering photo selection and tokenization.
The guide’s scope extends beyond environmental communications — much of its guidance on race, gender, disability, and immigration is general-purpose and usable across progressive communications work.
Access
The Sierra Club’s Equity Language Guide was publicly available at sierraclub.org/equity-language-guide in 2021. That URL now returns a 404 and the guide does not appear to be available elsewhere on the Sierra Club site.
The commons holds a private preservation copy for citation verification — so that quotes cited here remain verifiable even when the original source goes offline. The full PDF is not publicly redistributed from this site. The Sierra Club holds copyright and has not granted reuse permission.
For reuse beyond fair-use citation, contact the Sierra Club directly via sierraclub.org/contact-us.
Publication details
Version history
- 2021 edition Current canonical
Current canonical. No predecessor editions located in research.
Terms citing this source
- Indigenous Use with care
“Generally speaking, the Sierra Club uses 'Tribal' to refer to Native peoples in a U.S. context and 'Indigenous' in an international context. 'Native' can be used in either context but should always be qualified by 'nations,' 'people' or 'peoples.'”
— p. 16, Tribal Sovereignty and Public Lands — Tips on Writing About Tribal Nations
- Indigenous Avoid
“'Indian' or 'Indian Country': Similarly, though many Tribal peoples may use 'Indian' to refer to themselves, the Sierra Club is not a Tribal organization and should default to using a more formal, respectful term like 'Tribal' or 'Native.' If someone wishes to be identified as 'Indian,' we should refer to them as 'self-identified' (e.g., self-identified Indian activist).”
— p. 18, Cultural Appropriation — Common Phrases to Avoid
- Latinx Use with care
“Some people use the term 'Latinx' as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino and Latina, but there is no consensus on its use. While the Sierra Club defaults to using 'Latino' or 'Latina,' you should use 'Latinx' if someone self-identifies as Latinx.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity
- Latinx Non-preferred
“The Sierra Club defaults to 'Latino,' not 'Hispanic,' to describe people of Latin American heritage or descent. As when discussing anyone's racial identity, however, you should use the language people use to describe themselves.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (Hispanic discussion)
- Black Use
“Be sure to ask interview subjects and spokespeople how they prefer to be referred to, and note that these terms are not interchangeable, particularly for recent immigrants from African countries living in the U.S. The Sierra Club always capitalizes Black when referring to race or ethnicity.”
— p. 12, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (Black and/or African American)
- Hispanic Non-preferred
“The Sierra Club defaults to 'Latino,' not 'Hispanic,' to describe people of Latin American heritage or descent. As when discussing anyone's racial identity, however, you should use the language people use to describe themselves. … Please also note that the terms 'Latino/a/x' and 'Hispanic' are not simply interchangeable. Though there are different nuances and viewpoints, in general, 'Hispanic' refers to people who speak Spanish and/or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations, while 'Latino/a/x' refers to people who are from or descended from people from Latin America. As with many matters, perspectives vary and it is best to be as specific as possible and consult with people as to how they wish to be identified.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (Latino entry)
- Asian American Use
“Asian American/Pacific Islander, AAPI — Ideally refer to a more specific identity when that information is available.”
— p. 12, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (AAPI entry)
- BIPOC Use with care
“A preferred term today is 'BIPOC' referring to Black, Indigenous and people of color, which provides a unifying term for ease of use while still acknowledging the reality that Black and Indigenous people in the United States are impacted by structural and individual racism in a different way than other people of color. Either term, PoC or BIPOC, is acceptable for use at the Sierra Club, but be sure to explain the meaning of BIPOC the first time you use it in each piece of content. Overall, we should strive to be more specific whenever possible. If you really mean to refer to Black communities, or Indigenous communities, then do so. Using BIPOC as a catch-all for all racial identities aside from white risks erasing the very real differences in lived experience among people of different races, undermining the original purpose of the term.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → BIPOC entry
- white Use
“Do not capitalize the word 'white.' Doing so risks the perception that Sierra Club is aligned with organized white supremacy. Some argue that by not capitalizing white, whiteness is designated as the default. This is a good conversation to have, but at this time the Sierra Club does not capitalize white to avoid the appearance of allying with organized white supremacy.”
— p. 12, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (white entry)
- African American Use
“Be sure to ask interview subjects and spokespeople how they prefer to be referred to, and note that these terms are not interchangeable, particularly for recent immigrants from African countries living in the U.S.”
— p. 12, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (Black and/or African American)
- minority Non-preferred
“Minority: According to Race Forward, 'Defining people of color as ‘minorities’ is not recommended because of changing demographics and the ways in which it reinforces ideas of inferiority and marginalization of a group of people.' In some areas, it is also simply becoming inaccurate as population demographics shift. When considering a term to use other than 'minority,' consider which specific communities you actually mean. BIPOC communities? Working class communities? Be more specific and you can easily avoid this term.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Common Phrases to Avoid
- Latino / Latina Use
“The Sierra Club defaults to 'Latino,' not 'Hispanic,' to describe people of Latin American heritage or descent. … While 'Latino' is a masculine word in Spanish, it can also be used to describe a group of people of mixed genders. … 'Latina' is the feminine version of 'Latino,' and should be used when describing an individual woman, e.g., 'Vanessa is a Latina organizer,' or groups of Latina women, e.g., the headline 'Black and Latina moms are the most concerned about climate change.'”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Preferred Terms for Racial Identity (Latino entry)
- people of color Use with care
“'People of color' has in the past served as a collective term for people who are not white. A preferred term today is 'BIPOC' referring to Black, Indigenous and people of color … Either term, PoC or BIPOC, is acceptable for use at the Sierra Club … Overall, we should strive to be more specific whenever possible.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → BIPOC entry
- urban Use with care
“Use caution with terms that may subtly evoke and reinforce racial stereotypes, such as 'urban,' 'vibrant,' and 'hardworking.' Instead, just say what you actually mean — and consider whether what you meant to say has embedded stereotypes that should be removed.”
— p. 13, Racial and Ethnic Identity → Common Phrases to Avoid