Climate activist Greta Thunberg discusses EU plans to tackle the climate emergency with Parliament's environment committee on March 4, 2020. CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2020 – Source: EP
By Abdullahi Alim
The 2008 financial crisis spurred a number of youth movements including Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring. A decade later, this anger resurfaced in a new wave of global protests, from Hong Kong to Beirut to London, only this time driven by the children of the 2008 financial crisis.
<p>These movements enjoy mass popularity, but how effective are they? Greta Thunberg proclaimed that "<a href="https://time.com/5768561/greta-thunberg-davos-panel-time/" target="_blank">pretty much nothing [had] been done</a>" since staging school strikes to raise awareness of the climate crisis in 2018, while Micah White, co-creator of <a href="http://occupywallst.org/" target="_blank">Occupy Wall Street</a>, has said that social change as we know it is dead.</p><p>As the world now faces the <a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression/" target="_blank">deepest economic downturn</a> since the Great Depression, there will be greater social unrest and calls for a new set of solutions.</p><p>Youth movements will need to find a more mature form of activism to counter the popularized puritanism that has prevailed. More precisely, here are 4 considerations for young changemakers as they seek a more just and equitable world:</p>
1. Learn From the Past
<p>Young people tend to be comfortable with change. Their instant adoption of technology is an example.<a target="_blank"> However, they may lack an understanding of the more permanent realities – requiring patience and </a>stoicism.</p><p>This wisdom is typically in the hands of individuals who either work within systems or who have accumulated far more tenure. This was effectively echoed by 13-year old activist, Naomi Wadler who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Aa6XLZe9A" target="_blank">said</a>, "We can educate our youth a lot better. We're not delving deeper into social justice movements from the past."</p><p>Youth movements that are informed by the success and pitfalls of prior efforts offer a more promising outcome. Take for example, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, co-founded by a 32-year old Alicia Garza.<span></span></p><p>Unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960's, BLM lacks central governance. This means that opponents can't attack its leadership as a means to discredit the whole movement. In the 1960's, this is exactly what happened to the civil rights movement, when critics went after Martin Luther King, stalling the collective efforts of the movement.</p><p>In fact, King spent his final year <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/04/martin-luther-king-jr-50-years-assassination-donald-trump-disapproval-column/482242002/" target="_blank">mired in public disapproval</a> with over 75% of Americans considering him "irrelevant" including 60% of African Americans.</p><p>By studying the legacy of previous efforts, BLM has managed to rally approximately <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/big-majorities-support-protests-over-floyd-killing-and-say-police-need-to-change-poll-finds/2020/06/08/6742d52c-a9b9-11ea-9063-e69bd6520940_story.html" target="_blank">75% of the American public</a>; a feat that will undeniably ensure the longevity of its cause.</p><p>For the youth climate movement, it too must reconcile the long record of activism that predates its tenure. It ought to model itself as an intergenerational movement by giving greater credence to the activists, environmental scientists and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/juan-manuel-santos-colombia-indigenous-peoples-coronavirus-pandemic-climate-change-environment-nature/" target="_blank">indigenous elders</a> that have fought for climate justice before its inception and ultimately signal the nuance and maturity that would activate allies within systems of power.</p>2. Become Part of Systems Change
<p>From the college campus to the coworking space, you would be hard pressed to avoid the sight of a social impact competition that invites young people to resolve some of the world's most intractable problems.<br></p><p>Unsurprisingly, this often leads to problematic and incomplete solutions. Take, for example, <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/tackling_heropreneurship" target="_blank">an app for African farmers</a> developed by students who have neither farmed nor been to Africa.<br></p><p>Fortunately, there is a growing shift towards empowering young people to better diagnose the systems that uphold inequality. For example, Oxford University hosts the annual <a href="http://www.oxfordglobalchallenge.com/" target="_blank">Map the System</a> competition to celebrate some of the most promising youth-led mappings and the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/story" target="_blank">Global Shapers Community</a> convenes more than 7,000 young people under the age of 30 to address local, regional and global challenges.</p><p>To achieve systemic change, young changemakers must first unpack systems into <a href="https://wtf.tw/ref/meadows.pdf" target="_blank">three components</a>; elements, interconnections and functions:</p><ul><li>Elements are essentially the key stakeholders in the system. This can include individuals, land or objects.</li><li>Interconnections are the laws and social norms that bind the elements together.</li><li>Functions are the end-goals.</li></ul><p>Take for example, the persistence of sexual harassment in the workplace as a systems issue. The elements in the system would include the victim, perpetrator and other intermediary bodies including line managers and human resource teams. The interconnections could include forced arbitration laws that prohibit employees from seeking public courts and a managerial culture that protects high performing perpetrators and pressures victims into silence. In which case, the ultimate functions (or rather dysfunctions) of the system discourage victims from pursuing action and enable perpetrators and enablers to enjoy the benefits of career progression without due trial.</p><p>Systemic change is about redesigning the interconnections (the cultural norms and laws). In the example above, it involves challenging the use of private arbitrary courts and uprooting a toxic work culture. Reclaiming this intuition opens a pandora's box that ultimately allows for any given system to operate more inclusively.<br></p><p>Today, young changemakers can rely on online resources like <a href="http://systems-ledleadership.com/" target="_blank">Systems-Led-Leadership</a> to analyze any given system of inequality and then direct their unique skills and knowledge towards the most effective intervention.</p>3. Avoid Heropreneurship
<p>Daniela Papi-Thornton first coined the term <a href="http://tacklingheropreneurship.com/" target="_blank">heropreneurship</a> to describe a growing trend that credits social change to the "founder" of an organization or movement exclusively.</p><p>This culture has inspired an entire generation of young change-makers who are swayed by the allure of the "heroic" founder and whose behaviors are validated through youth awards, grants and speaking circuits that glorify a role in the limelight. This pervasive culture undercuts the entire spectrum of actors that really creates social change.</p><p>Social change does not necessarily warrant the creation of a new organization or movement. Change-makers should consider the root causes that perpetuate and uphold inequalities and then map the existing players and solutions. This process might point to scaling up the work of an existing organization or helping a local candidate run for office.<br><br>For young people who wish to create social change, their efforts – while extremely important – may go unnoticed. This is an expectation that needs to be managed.<br></p>4. Know Your Place
<p>In 2016, a political action committee entitled <a href="http://canyounot.org/" target="_blank">Can You Not</a> emerged with the aim of discouraging white men from running for office in minority districts.</p><p>Despite the comical graphics, the campaign highlights an important question for young changemakers, particularly if they advocate for issues that they have not lived: in the quest for social change, can the actions of change-makers unwittingly perpetuate injustices, even as they seek to end them?<br></p><p>In the example above, could the notion of a white man effectively assuming the role of a translator between minority communities and government only reinforce their structural underrepresentation in political decision-making? Could the desire to assume office without lived experience also signal little faith in the leadership of the very communities being served?<br></p><p>A more effective approach to social change may be to encourage such actors to take stock of the unintended consequences of misrepresentation. In doing so, they may come to appreciate the importance of "stepping back" to allow others to "step forward." More concretely, this could result in building trusted relationships with the community and eventually empowering more local voices to consider public leadership.<br></p><p>For young changemakers, it is pivotal that they assess their own standing in a given system and avoid perpetuating the very inequalities they wish to tackle.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0MDM1MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTA1MjM3MX0.dmJ2XOyMic9ElhQYP9Xc7jj5fnmfwRRlR-smcGrsG_k/img.png?width=980" id="e696f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f0f1ac331784be079123990844df136b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Strategic Intelligence: Youth Perspectives. World Economic Forum
A More Targeted, Effective Kind of Activism
<p>Social media has played its critical part in providing young people with a vehicle to advocate for social reform.</p><p>Whether it's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/23/greta-thunberg-speech-un-2019-address" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg's speech</a> during the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 or <a href="https://variety.com/2018/politics/features/emma-gonzalez-parkland-interview-1202972485/" target="_blank">Emma Gonzalez</a> rallying crowds for more stringent gun control. younger voices are swaying public opinion and pressuring political systems to operate more inclusively.<br></p><p>The impact of these extraordinary young people is inspiring, but arguably they struggle to provide a course of action for the average young person who is motivated to pursue social change. The inconvenient truth is that social reform is difficult and even more so for a young person who wrestles with challenges related to experience and credibility.<br></p><p>To be more effective, young changemakers must forge greater bonds with late-stage activists as well as potential allies within systems of power. They must also understand the systems that uphold equality and pinpoint the intervention that would most likely inspire systemic change.<br></p><p>Finally, it is pivotal that they invest in a support system and seek to dissolve <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/this-is-how-wellbeing-drives-social-change-and-why-cultural-leaders-need-to-talk-about-it" target="_blank">personal anxieties</a> that may compromise their change-making potential.</p><p>It's time for youth activism to grow up.</p>From Your Site Articles
- British Queen Praises Young Climate Activists in Christmas Speech ... ›
- Homeland Security Listed Climate Activists as 'Extremists' Alongside ... ›
- 'We Have So Much More to Do': Youth Climate Activists Declare as ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue near the Trump International Hotel during a protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd on June 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images
By John R. Platt
This year has brought us some brutal lessons so far, chief among them the fact that systemic racism drives or amplifies nearly all our societal and environmental ills.
Now is the time to listen to the people affected most by those problems of environmental justice and racism — and the activists working to solve them.
<p>Here's a good place to start: We've gathered 16 essential recent books on environmental racism and related topics from leading journalists and experts. Two of these are hot off the presses and scheduled to hit shelves this month, while the rest were pulled from <a href="https://therevelator.org/tag/revelator-reads/" target="_blank">previous "Revelator Reads" installments</a>. All provide vital insight into the problems that plague people and the planet, while also offering solutions for a more just future.</p><p>Since we're still in the middle of a pandemic — another problem made worse by racial injustice — it obviously remains challenging to visit local bookstores and libraries, so these links all go to publishers' sites, where you can order hard copies or e-books. You can also find enough information to order any of these books from local stores, which may offer delivery or curbside pickup.</p><p>This list is hardly exhaustive and pulls mostly from books published over the past two years, and it weighs a bit heavily on Indigenous authors and protests like Standing Rock. So please feel free to <a href="mailto:tips@therevelator.org" target="_blank">recommend</a> any insightful books we missed.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.newsociety.com/Books/E/Engage-Connect-Protect" target="_blank"><em>Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders</em></a> by Angelou Ezeilo</strong></p><p>The founder of the Greening Youth Foundation provides a critique of the too-white environmental movement and a toolkit for engaging younger participants from African American, Latinx and Native American communities.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.beacon.org/As-Long-as-Grass-Grows-P1445.aspx" target="_blank">As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock</a><em> </em><strong>by Dina Gilio-Whitaker </strong></strong></p><p>The history of Indigenous resistance may offer all of us the strength we need to keep fighting, from the coauthor of <em>"All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans</em>.</p><p><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamie-margolin/youth-to-power/9780738246666/" target="_blank"><em><strong></strong></em></a><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamie-margolin/youth-to-power/9780738246666/" target="_blank"><strong><em>Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It</em></strong></a> <strong>by Jamie Margolin</strong> <u><strong><u><span></span></u></strong></u></p><p><u><strong><u><span></span></u></strong></u>An essential book by one of the country's most engaging youth activists. Margolin, a queer Latinx, cofounded Zero Hour and helped energize 2018's record-breaking Youth Climate March. Now she shares her experience and expertise — along with that of other young activists — and offers advice on everything from organizing peaceful protests to protecting your mental health in a time of crisis. Greta Thunberg provides the foreword.</p>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520300743/environmental-justice-in-a-moment-of-danger" target="_blank">Environmental Justice in a Moment of Danger</a> </strong></em><strong>by Julie Sze</strong><strong></strong></p><p>As we've seen many times over the years, activists standing up for environmental justice often face violent reprisal. This academic book examines the what Sze calls the "historical and cultural forces and resistance to violence, death, and destruction of lives and bodies" to reveal guideposts for future (and hopefully safer) action.</p><p><strong><a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300232158/climate-change-streets" target="_blank">Climate Change From the Streets</a><em> </em>by Michael Méndez</strong></p><p>Méndez argues that the climate crisis is also a crisis for public health, especially in lower-income communities of color, and that both problems can only be solved by addressing issues of environmental justice. His book — subtitled "How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement" — taps into Méndez's own research into California communities and grassroots activism to show how the problems that plague us can also bring us together — but only if we invite everyone to the table.</p><p><em><strong><a href="http://tupress.temple.edu/book/20000000009800" target="_blank">Latinx Environmentalisms: Place, Justice, and the Decolonial</a> </strong></em><strong>edited by Sarah D. Wald, David J. Vázquez, Priscilla Solis Ybarra and Sarah Jaquette Ray</strong><span></span></p><p>More than a dozen top minds come together to examine thoughts and cultural processes otherwise ignored by the environmental movement.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.littlebrownspark.com/titles/harriet-a-washington/a-terrible-thing-to-waste/9780316509428/" target="_blank"><em>A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind</em></a> by Harriet A. Washington</strong><br></p><p><span></span>This book will open your eyes, make you angry, and then point you toward solutions for ending the plague of pollution-related health problems in marginalized communities of color.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.sevenstories.com/authors/65-aric-mcbay" target="_blank">Full Spectrum Resistance</a><em> </em><strong>by Aric McBay</strong></strong></p><p>This two-volume series provides a powerful primer for activism on social-justice and environmental issues, using examples from more than 50 resistance movements around the world. The first book discusses how to build movements, while the second examines strategies for change.</p><p><strong><a href="https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/indigenous-environmental-justice" target="_blank"><em>Indigenous Environmental Justice</em></a> edited by Karen Jarratt-Snider and Marianne O. Nielsen</strong></p><p>When pollution harms your physical, financial and spiritual health, it's more than an injustice. But that's what happens time and time again in Indian Country. This book addresses situations ranging from Standing Rock to uranium mining on Navajo and Hopi lands through lenses of colonization, sovereignty and — perhaps most importantly — victory.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/poisoned-water-9781547602322/" target="_blank"><em>Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation</em></a> by Candy J. Cooper with Marc Aronson</strong></p><p>We've already seen several bestselling and powerful books address the Flint water crisis, but this is the first one specifically written for young-adult readers. When you consider that kids were among the worst affected by the Flint tragedy, that makes this a story they need to read and understand — so they can grow up and help prevent it from happening to anyone else.</p><p><strong><span></span><a href="https://btlbooks.com/book/unearthing-justice" target="_blank"><em>Unearthing Justice: How to Protect Your Community From the Mining Industry</em></a></strong><strong> by Joan Kuyek</strong></p><p>Covering everything from how to stop a new mining project to figuring out how to clean up an abandoned mine, this important book offers activists a primer for taking on all manner of extractive industries that can harm human health and the environment.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ecwpress.com/products/whose-water-is-it" target="_blank"><em>Whose Water Is It, Anyway? Taking Water Protection Into Public Hands</em></a> by Maude Barlow</strong></p><p>One of the world's most notable water-justice activists provides a step-by-step guide to help communities keep themselves from going dry due to the actions of irresponsible companies and governments.</p>
<p><u><strong><a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/standing-with-standing-rock" target="_blank"><em>Standing With Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement</em></a> </strong></u><strong>edited by Nick Estes and Jaskiran Dhillon</strong></p><p><u><strong></strong></u><em>An essential volume to understand the history and significance of the famous resistance action, combining everything from essays and interviews to poems and photography.</em></p><p><strong><span></span><a href="https://us.orcabook.com/One-Earth-P12339.aspx" target="_blank">One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet</a><em> </em><strong>by Anuradha Rao</strong></strong></p><p>This book for pre-teen readers delivers 20 short biographies of activists around the world who are working to save everything from trees to dolphins to people. In the process, it hopes to inspire the next generation of activists — especially those who might not have seen themselves represented in the still all-too-white environmental movement.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/" target="_blank">Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land</a><em> </em>by Leah Penniman</strong></p><p>A how-to guide for ending racism and injustice in our country's food system, both on farms themselves and in nutrition-starved African American communities. Bonus: The same techniques improve the soil, treat livestock humanely, preserve rare plant varieties and provide benefits for the climate.</p><p><strong><span></span><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622853/who-killed-berta-caceres-by-nina-lakhani/" target="_blank"><em>Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Dams, Death Squads and an Indigenous Defender's Battle for the Planet</em></a> by Nina Lakhani</strong></p><p>Honduran indigenous leader and activist Berta Cáceres won the prestigious Goldman Prize in 2015 — one year before she was murdered for her work trying to stop a hydroelectric dam from destroying a sacred river. This powerful book tells the story of her life and death, a tragedy echoed in the murders and assaults committed against hundreds of environmental defenders every year.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/john/" target="_blank">John R. Platt</a> </em><em>is the editor of <em>The Revelator</em>. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in <em>Scientific American</em>, <em>Audubon</em>, <em>Motherboard</em>, and numerous other magazines and publications. His "Extinction Countdown" column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/environmental-justice-books-june-2020/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- The Four Most Thought-Provoking Environmental Books Coming in ... ›
- September's Best Environmental Books: The Green New Deal ... ›
- 10 Best Books On Climate Change, According to Activists - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Police Condemned for Charging Peaceful Environmentalists With 'Terrorizing' in Louisiana
27 June
Climate
Two Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists are facing felony "terrorizing" charges for leaving a box of plastic pellets collected from Texas waters near a coastal Formosa Plastics facility on the doorstep of a fossil fuel lobbyist in December 2019. MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
At least 40 U.S. climate and environmental advocacy groups on Friday rallied behind two Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists who are facing felony "terrorizing" charges for leaving a box of plastic pellets collected from Texas waters near a coastal Formosa Plastics facility on the doorstep of a fossil fuel lobbyist in December 2019.
<p>Anne Rolfes and Kate McIntosh, respectively the director and a program assistant for Louisiana Bucket Brigade, "turned themselves into the Baton Rouge Police Department Thursday," <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_ebee9ed6-b586-11ea-8819-439269c90a96.html" target="_blank">according to</a> NOLA.com. "Rolfes was booked with terrorizing, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. McIntosh was booked with principal to terrorizing. Each was released Thursday afternoon after posting $5,000 bond."</p>
<p>The new wave of support for the activists and their nonviolent protest against plastic pollution came in a collection of comments <a href="https://earthworks.org/media-releases/intimidation-tactics-in-louisiana-wont-silence-opposition-to-formosa-plastics/" target="_blank">circulated</a> by the nonprofit Earthworks.</p><p>"These charges are mere retaliation in response to the critical work done by Louisiana Bucket Brigade," said Scott Eustis, community science director at HealthyGulf. "Formosa Plastics is a serial offender of the United States Clean Water Act, and discussing their criminal record with executives and government is essential work in this time of climate emergency, when Formosa Plastics seeks to derail all the good work for Coastal Restoration that Louisiana has accomplished."</p>
<p>"It is outrageous and chilling to see people criminalized simply for speaking out and advocating against toxic pollution in their neighborhoods," declared Liz Butler, vice president of organizing and strategic Alliances at Friends of the Earth (FOE). "Louisiana needs to hold Formosa accountable for poisoning St. James Parish, not punish people who are trying to protect their communities."</p><p>Rolfes and McIntosh deposited the box outside the home of lobbyist Tyler Gray on Dec. 11 with a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6956444-Letter-Included-in-Nurdles-Package-Sent.html" target="_blank">note</a> which said in part that the plastic pellets, also called nurdles, "are just some of the billions of nurdles that Formosa Plastics dumped into the coastal waters of the state of Texas, from their Point Comfort production facility."</p>
<p>The note also said the nurdles should not be removed from bags or left around children or pets, and explained that thousands of Louisiana residents are urging state officials to reject a key permit for a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/groups-challenge-louisiana-permits-formosa-plastics-giant-petrochemical-complex" target="_blank">controversial</a> $9.4 billion petrochemical complex that Formosa plans to build in a region nationally known as "<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse" target="_blank">Cancer Alley.</a>"</p><p>Last year, Taiwan-based Formosa <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/15/formosa-plastics-pay-50-million-texas-clean-water-act-lawsuit/" target="_blank">agreed</a> to a $50 million settlement for dumping nurdles into Texas' Lavaca Bay. Activists in Louisiana continue to organize in opposition to Formosa's proposed complex in St. James Parish, warning that the facility will adversely impact public health and the environment in the predominantly Black community.</p><p>"Black and Indigenous communities in the Gulf South have long been treated as a sacrifice zone for the profits of the fossil fuel industry, and activists fighting for their health, safety, and future should be thanked, not penalized," Angela Anderson, climate and energy program director at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said Friday.</p><p>Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, director of 350.org North America, noted specifically that "Black residents of St. James Parish have been subjected to infamous levels of pollution and outrageous neglect from the agencies that should prevent it."</p><p>"This is a clear instance of the law and law enforcement being used to protect corporations, profit, and property over people," she said of the charges against Rolfes and McIntosh. "Louisiana is criminalizing protesters for speaking out against environmental injustice that the state has done next to nothing to address."</p>
<div id="2d9b4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aba472beff2e0cc9e7fa9ded595ae9b1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276202787915870210" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here's an incomplete tally of previous attempts to silence us:
📌Charging Pastor Manning with "inciting a riot" for… https://t.co/bz1t3dvowP</div> — LA Bucket Brigade (@LA Bucket Brigade)<a href="https://twitter.com/labucketbrigade/statuses/1276202787915870210">1593105429.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The charges against the pair "come on the heels of a series of incidents where environmental activists have been dealt hefty charges for actions challenging the petrochemical, oil, and gas industries in Louisiana," The Intercept <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/25/environmental-activists-charged-terrorizing-louisiana-formosa/" target="_blank">reported</a> Thursday.</p><blockquote>In August 2018, Louisiana legislators passed a law <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/08/22/recent-arrests-under-new-anti-protest-law-spotlight-risks-that-off-duty-cops-pose-to-pipeline-opponents/" target="_blank">establishing a new felony charge</a> for anyone who trespasses on critical infrastructure facilities, including chemical manufacturing facilities and oil and gas pipeline construction sites. Over the following couple months, police used the new law to charge 15 people protesting the oil company Energy Transfer's Bayou Bridge pipeline. Local prosecutors have not yet acted on the charges.<br></blockquote><p>Local organizers have responded to the crackdown on Rolfes and McIntosh by forming the<a href="https://defenddemocracyalliance.org/" target="_blank"> Alliance to Defend Democracy</a>. RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne says in a statement on the coalition website that "we will not stand by as law enforcement and a toxic chemical company from Taiwan attempt to scare, silence, and intimidate us."</p><p>Representatives for national groups also reiterated their opposition to the proposed Louisiana complex. As Center for Biological Diversity attorney Julie Teel Simmonds put it Friday: "Black communities are being sickened by corporate polluters and these sham charges won't deter our opposition to this terrible project."</p><p>Other organizations that voiced support for the arrested Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists include Amazon Watch, Break Free From Plastic, the Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice, Greenpeace USA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, and Women's Earth and Climate Action Network International.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/26/outrageous-and-chilling-police-condemned-charging-peaceful-environmentalists" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>
Read More
Show Less
People wait in line to vote in Georgia's Primary Election on June 9, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
Georgia's mid-June primary was the latest example of pandemic-induced voter suppression. Long lines at polling stations stretched for blocks and blocks as socially distanced voters waited for several hours to vote in person. In Fulton County, which includes Atlanta and is the state's most populated county, some voters waited past midnight to cast their ballot.
<p>Scenes like the one in Georgia—and <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/04/09/wisconsin-election-milwaukee-had-5-voting-sites-while-madison-had-66/2970587001/" target="_blank">Wisconsin before that</a>—have ignited a national conversation about voting by mail. In response, President Trump has claimed that voting by mail "<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266172570983940101" target="_blank">will lead to massive fraud</a>" and favor the Democratic Party. Notably, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/26/862797418/twitter-points-users-to-fact-checks-of-trump-tweets-for-the-first-time" target="_blank">Twitter even placed a fact-checking warning on one of Trump's tweets</a> about voting by mail, breaking with its previous practice of not calling out Trump's falsehoods.</p><p><a href="http://www.andrewbenjaminhall.com/Thompson_et_al_VBM.pdf" target="_blank">Vote by mail does not favor one party</a> over another, a 2020 study from Stanford University found. Additionally, a recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that <a href="https://www.people-press.org/2020/04/28/two-thirds-of-americans-expect-presidential-election-will-be-disrupted-by-covid-19/" target="_blank">70% of Americans favor allowing people to vote by mail</a>. Even when broken down by political party, 87% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans favor expanding mail-in voting.</p><p>"Undermining voter confidence in the system is a form of voter suppression," said Raúl Macías, counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. "Millions of Americans have voted by mail safely and securely for decades."</p><p>The Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, has <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/Coronavirus%2520Response%2520Memo.pdf" target="_blank">recommended states provide a universal vote-by-mail option</a> to hold fair elections during the pandemic.</p><p><span></span>As of May 2020, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have "no excuse" absentee voting, and five other states conduct elections entirely by mail with limited in-person voting options. However, <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-1-states-with-no-excuse-absentee-voting.aspx" target="_blank">16 states still require voters to provide an "excuse" to receive an absentee ballot</a>. While <a href="https://trustthevote.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/27May20_BipartisanTruthAboutByMailVoting_v3.pdf" target="_blank">most of the "excuse-required" voting states have ruled the novel coronavirus outbreak is a valid reason</a> to receive an absentee ballot, four of them—Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, and Texas—have not made the necessary changes to allow absentee voting widely available during the pandemic.</p>
<p>In Texas, the state Supreme Court went as far as to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/27/texas-vote-by-mail-coronavirus/" target="_blank">block a ruling that would allow Texans to use the pandemic as a reason to vote by mail</a>. As it stands, Texas will only send absentee ballots to voters who are 65 years or older, disabled, out of the county during the election period, or confined to jail.</p><p>According to MOVE Texas, a nonprofit organization focused on civic engagement for youth in Texas, the ruling is anti-voter and could lead to voter suppression by forcing residents to choose between their health and voting. But, seeing anti-voter decisions from the state government is not a surprise to the MOVE team.</p><p>"In the past, we've seen elections as a statewide issue," said Raven Douglas, political director of MOVE Texas. "But, after the 2019 legislative session where we were able to defeat […] a really bad anti-voter bill, we came together with a number of ally organizations and decided we could no longer rely on our state government to pass pro-democracy reform."</p><p>So, in addition to starting a petition to voice the organization's disappointment in the <a href="https://movetexas.org/protect-our-democracy-from-a-pandemic/" target="_blank">Texas Supreme Court ruling against mail-in voting</a>, MOVE Texas is turning to local officials to help voters in other ways. Douglas noted that county officials can greenlight curbside voting options, extend clerk's office hours, provide extra drop boxes, and more.</p><p><span></span>"You don't have to wait on your governor or your secretary of state to pass guidance, you can do that directly with your elections administrator and your county clerks," Douglas said.</p>
<p>Macías also acknowledges the need for in-person voting expansion during the upcoming elections.</p><p>"We think it's really important that every voter has the opportunity to vote by mail this election, but also in-person voting has to be maintained," Macías said. That means modifying polling places to fit social distancing guidelines, expanded early voting, making voter registration easier online or by mail, and investing in education programs about how this election might be different from what voters are used to.</p><p>Additionally, Macías notes that for most states to scale up their vote by mail systems to handle a much higher volume of ballots, they will need new equipment, such as ballot sorters, signature-verification software, optical scanning devices, and enough printers to handle the expected increase of applications and ballots.</p><p>"We really want to see Congress send more money to help elections officials conduct their elections," Macías said. "This is really the time when the federal government needs to step up. It's too important."</p><p>In Michigan, Voters Not Politicians, a pro-democracy organization, is advocating for an even more radical solution: skipping the application process and just sending absentee ballots to all voters, with postage-paid return envelopes, for the November election, through a <a href="https://votersnotpoliticians.com/votesafe/" target="_blank">campaign called VoteSafe</a>.</p>
<p>"We're running out of time," Nancy Wang, Voters Not Politicians' editorial director, said. "Our campaign started seven weeks ago and with every day it's becoming harder and harder."</p><p>VoteSafe is asking state officials to take other measures to fight voter disenfranchisement, such as supplying secure ballot drop boxes and accessible polling locations that follow protocols for sanitization and social distancing, increasing funding for ballot security and tracking, and expanding access to local clerks' offices leading up to Election Day.</p><p>"We wouldn't be blazing trails here, we would really be following best practices," Wang said, citing the expert advice the organization received from the former elections director for Denver. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2018/05/10/the-cybersecurity-202-how-colorado-became-the-safest-state-to-cast-a-vote/5af317c930fb042db5797427/" target="_blank">Colorado is seen as a leader in election integrity and pro-voter policies</a>. </p><p>One of those best practices is running a culturally competent education campaign, meaning that Wang and her team must be sensitive to different communities' history with voting and cater to that. For example, Wang says, some people don't trust the U.S. Postal Service, so there must be enough drop boxes for physical ballots and in-person polling sites for voters who may be deterred by having to send their ballot through the mail.</p><p>"You need to make sure you're creating a system that doesn't disenfranchise voters for other reasons," Wang said. To do this, Voters Not Politicians has partnered with community groups across Michigan to make sure the messaging and education surrounding the election is sensitive and resonates with the state's communities.</p>
<p>"This issue is really a concern for organizations that work not just in voting rights spaces," Wang said. "There is a lot of really great work being done by other groups in the state."</p><p>Partnerships with organizations that don't strictly deal with voting rights can also help show that voting by mail is not a partisan issue, Wang says. A majority of Michigan voters are supportive of expanding voting options—67% of voters approved a 2018 proposal to expand voting by mail.</p><p>"We should be trying to make it easier to vote for everyone, particularly in this election cycle," Macías said. "We shouldn't be asking voters to choose between their health and their vote."</p><p>That same sentiment is what prompted the nonpartisan organization Democracy North Carolina to join several other voting and elections organizations in a <a href="https://democracync.org/news/democracy-nc-goes-to-court-to-ensure-north-carolina-holds-fair-safe-elections-this-fall/" target="_blank">lawsuit demanding that the state take "necessary steps to guarantee a fair, safe election in November</a>."</p><p>"The decision to sue came down to the fact that our general assembly has a history of either inaction on voting rights issues, or outright hostility to voting rights," said Tomas Lopez, the group's executive director.</p>
<p>What's needed, according Democracy North Carolina's suit, is a relaxation of voter registration requirements, making in-person voting safer and ballot drop boxes available, and easing the process of absentee voting. While North Carolina is a no-excuse absentee voting state—meaning anyone can apply to receive an absentee ballot in the mail—absentee voters must get the signatures of two witnesses or a notary for their absentee ballot to be counted.</p><p>According to Lopez, 4% of North Carolina voters voted by mail in 2016, but the state board of elections predicts 30% to 40% of voters will vote by mail this year. Lopez fears that with social distancing orders, absentee voters won't be able to acquire two witnesses, or a notary, and will either not submit their ballot, or submit it and have the ballot rejected.</p><p>"All the stuff that we're doing is about trying to make sure that our election rules are responsive to the reality that people are having to live in," he said.</p><p>Another reality is that <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2020/05/05/coronavirus-black-lives-matter/" target="_blank">COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting Black</a> and brown communities, the same communities that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/07/poll-prri-voter-suppression/565355/" target="_blank">suffer the most from voter suppression</a> efforts.</p><p>"One of the really concerning parts of this is that, absent the kind of changes we are putting forward, voting access for Black and brown North Carolinians is going to take a double hit, from COVID and all the ways which it's hitting communities, and from all the ways the election rules are failing to respond," Lopez said.</p><p>"The election is already different, the question is whether the rules are going to respond to it or not," Lopez said. "All of these COVID response issues are rooted in things we'd like to see in November."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2020/06/22/coronavirus-vote-election/" target="_blank">Yes! Magazine</a>.</em></p><p><em><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/isabella-garcia/" target="_blank">ISABELLA GARCIA</a> is a former solutions journalism intern for YES!.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Latino Voters Worried About Climate Change Could Swing 2020 ... ›
- Climate Activists Prepare for November Election - EcoWatch ›
- Voting During a Pandemic - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
A Greenpeace rally in front of the Democratic National Committee headquarters on June 12, 2019 in Washington, D.C., calling for a presidential campaign climate debate after DNC chairman Tom Perez rejected the request . Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Despite mounting pressure on the party to craft a 2020 platform that includes ambitious climate policies, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez on Monday announced a drafting committee that, in the words of journalist Emily Atkin, "snubs progressive climate activists again."
<p>Perez's announcement followed reporting that Democratic Party leadership was "<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-climate-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-democratic-party-irked-by-councils-insurgent-climate-plan-sources-idUSKBN23M1DO" target="_blank">irked</a>" when the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/04/planet-stake-dnc-panel-pushes-biden-back-16-trillion-plan-fight-climate-crisis" target="_blank">released</a> policy <a href="https://www.dncclimate.org/the-platform" target="_blank">recommendations</a> for the platform on June 4 that are bolder than the proposals in presidential candidate Joe Biden's climate plan. Party insiders <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/15/dncs-climate-council-urges-party-go-beyond-biden-plan-calling-fracking-ban-and-16" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Reuters</em> the panel is an "insurgent" group that is not "taken seriously."</p><p>Several climate advocacy groups have endorsed the panel's recommendations, including Greenpeace USA on Tuesday. Charlie Jiang, a campaigner for the group, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/06/23/greenpeace-usa-endorses-dnc-climate-crisis-council-2020-platform" target="_blank">declared</a> that "as we confront the interwoven crises of climate change, white supremacy, and Covid-19, we must demand nothing short of a visionary, transformative agenda from Democratic leadership."</p><p>Perez, for his part, <a href="https://www.wispolitics.com/2020/democratic-national-committee-announces-platform-drafting-committee-members/" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement that "crafting our party platform is important work, and I'm confident that the members of this committee will engage Americans in a substantive dialogue of ideas and solutions that will articulate our party's vision for the country and mobilize voters in every community to elect Joe Biden."</p><p>However, the positions and backgrounds of those charged with drafting that Democratic Party's platform suggest the final version could fall far short of climate activists' demands. As Atkin <a href="https://heated.world/p/dnc-snubs-progressive-climate-activists" target="_blank">detailed</a> in her <em>HEATED</em> newsletter Tuesday:</p><blockquote>[The] majority of people on the drafting committee are Gen Xers and Baby Boomers (average age: 55) who have either have no history of prioritizing climate; aren't on record as supporting the Green New Deal; and/or haven't signed the <a href="https://email.mg1.substack.com/c/eJwlkE1uxCAMhU8zLCMgJCQLFt3MNRABkzBDIOKnbW5f6Eje-LP17Pe0KrDHdIsr5oJqhiSdEZwQwlZkBOZU8w25LG0COJXzAl11806r4mLou5TxER1iIdzoWesZr2ZaNlgJ1ZZau4BmHaB-QKpqHAQNIgZ_y0s5g7w4Srke49eDPluFaGPOztsK_owB7iGmvXHkBMUU45mOhDHK5oEM-8Tzaz7z73d-MHzuZMh1y0Xp96DjiZJ4qTe0SWualEmgztzlugXZYQ2u3BKC2jwYUVIFVD5J_H9b7gtEgJ_soRRIH9gsT3xZV4raMRNbJkEc0GI0f_hScwM" target="_blank">No Fossil Fuel Money</a> pledge. There's only one person on the drafting committee who could credibly considered a climate-focused Democrat. There are more big bank executives on the Democratic platform drafting committee than there are climate activists or millennials.<br></blockquote><p>Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will chair the drafting committee, Biden adviser Carmel Martin will be a non-voting member, and Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.) will be an ex-officio member. The other members are Tony Allen (Del.), Stuart Appelbaum (N.Y.), Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Texas), Heather Gautney (N.Y.), Don Graves (Ohio), Rep. Deb Haaland (N.M.), Analilia Mejia (N.J.), Josh Orton (Wis.), state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (Fla.), Julianne Smith (D.C.), Richard Trumka (Penn.), and former Gov. Tom Vilsack (Iowa).</p>
<div id="c0733" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eb3f5677897dd1fe3c24ce36f065c2bd"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275207870615781383" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Breaking: DNC announces membership of the 15-person #DemPlatform2020 Drafting Committee. A sub-committee of the 187… https://t.co/iDWmFmZSIv</div> — DNC Environment and Climate Council (@DNC Environment and Climate Council)<a href="https://twitter.com/DNCClimate/statuses/1275207870615781383">1592868223.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Atkin created a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PloB-PNkeg8j2s0UFFnFFPfcoxTMalI8S6pm8PhrVJ0/edit#gid=0" target="_blank">spreadsheet</a> of all the committee members with identifiers such as age, gender, and race as well as parts of their political histories—including whether they endorsed Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who were the two most progressive 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidates before suspending their campaigns.</p><p>Haaland is the only elected official on the committee who has signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge, and she and Clark are the only two members who supported Warren's presidential run, according to the spreadsheet. Just Gautney, Mejia, and Orton backed Sanders—who, as Atkin noted, "had the most aggressive climate plan."</p><p>Atkin's analysis came after she <a href="https://heated.world/p/the-dncs-troubling-platform-process" target="_blank">reported</a> for <em>HEATED</em> last month that Michelle Deatrick, who chairs the DNC climate panel, was worried that the platform drafting committee "would be filled with people who don't prioritize progressive climate policy like the Green New Deal." As Atkin put it Tuesday: "Her fears were founded."</p>
<div id="11fd5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1e9c59dad31ab77f4c0d7f0545b434c6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275441365178937344" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The DNC's powerful platform drafting subcommittee announced yesterday does not include anyone from the DNC climate… https://t.co/AiVUrgAZUC</div> — Emily Atkin (@Emily Atkin)<a href="https://twitter.com/emorwee/statuses/1275441365178937344">1592923892.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The DNC council <a href="https://www.dncclimate.org/press/first-ever-dnc-environment-and-climate-crisis-council-launched-to-urge-the-democratic-party-to-take-bolder-more-aggressive-approach-to-the-climate-crisisnbsp" target="_blank">launched</a> in February to pressure the party to pursue more aggressive policies in the wake of Perez <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/10/dnc-wrong-side-history-challenged-activists-tom-perez-says-hosting-2020-debate" target="_blank">refusing</a> to hold a climate-focused primary debate. Deatrick is a former Sanders campaign surrogate and the panel's platform recommendations <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/04/planet-stake-dnc-panel-pushes-biden-back-16-trillion-plan-fight-climate-crisis" target="_blank">largely align</a> with the former presidential candidate's climate plan.</p><p>The panel suggested spending $10-$16 trillion on tackling the climate crisis over the next decade and committing to various emissions and renewable energy targets—specifically, "near-zero emissions by 2040; 100% clean renewable energy by 2030 in electricity generation, buildings, and transportation; and 100% zero-carbon new building infrastructure by 2025."</p><p>The council also called for prioritizing "working families above fossil fuel corporations by ensuring a just transition and building a green economy with millions of new, family-sustaining jobs" and addressing "the disproportionate environmental and climate harms to frontline and vulnerable communities"—and detailed various policies for each of those demands.</p>
<div id="eaba6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b432a294e2acc3e8f7a18a6118ffa32c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275442915930603521" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Excited by @greenpeaceusa's endorsement of @DNCClimate Council's bold, science-based Recommendations for the 2020 D… https://t.co/9w3m1Z8sa5</div> — Michelle Deatrick (@Michelle Deatrick)<a href="https://twitter.com/MDeatrick/statuses/1275442915930603521">1592924262.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In Greenpeace USA's endorsement of the recommendations, Jiang celebrated that the council decided to "stake a bold and much-needed new direction for the Democratic Party" and expressed hope that "the many visionary and essential elements of this proposal [will be] included in the official DNC platform to be finalized in August."</p><p>"It's critical that candidates and elected officials champion a Green New Deal and a managed transition away from fossil fuels, including the end of federal permits, subsidies, and financing for oil, gas, and coal," he said. "A world beyond fossil fuels—one that prioritizes justice for workers and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis over corporate profit—is possible if our elected officials are willing to fight for us."</p><p>"As platform negotiations continue, we hope to see more details emerge as to how the part plans to meet its important goals for achieving 100% clean power, transportation, buildings, agriculture, and industry; deploy federal investments quickly and equitably; and meaningfully engage with impacted workers and communities," Jiang added. "We must prioritize racial and economic justice for frontline communities while mobilizing the full power of the federal government to tackle the historic crises we face."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/23/dnc-snubs-climate-movement-just-greenpeace-endorses-democratic-panels-visionary-plan" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Climate Change Committee Likely to Be Revived by Democratic ... ›
- House Democrats Hold First Climate Change Hearings in More ... ›
- Democrats Compete Over Strong Stance on Climate Action at ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Race and the Climate Movement: What Our Black Colleagues Want the Rest of Us to Know
22 June
Insights + Opinion
View from roof on Fulton street painted huge Black Lives Matter slogan during unveiling ceremony in Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The completed mural stretches from Marcy Avenue to New York Avenue for 375 feet. Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket / Getty Images
Climate movement, we have a problem.
We've been marching and speaking out demanding justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless other victims of white supremacy.
<p>But if we're honest, a lot of us — white activists at least — still aren't looking in the mirror. We don't want to see our own privilege. We don't want to acknowledge that we insult and anger our friends, colleagues, and partners of color every day without even realizing it. More than anything, we don't want to admit that we inadvertently help keep racism and all its poisonous inequities alive and well. <em>Yes, us</em>.</p><p>Fixing that can't be on people of color. They've been trying to get us to listen for decades. If we can spend the time researching the best schools in our area or the best car for our budget, we sure can spend the time educating ourselves about our privilege and unintentional racism (we'd suggest Robin DiAngelo's excellent book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/White-Fragility-People-About-Racism-ebook/dp/B07638ZFN1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=white+fragility" target="_blank"><em>White Fragility</em></a> as a start).</p>
<p>But when people of color do speak with hard truths, we have to listen. It's true for the movement and it's true for us at Climate Reality.</p><p>So we wanted to share some perspectives from activists of color here at Climate Reality who were generous enough to talk about what many white activists <em>still</em> don't get — and need to.</p><p>For white activists, we'd ask that you put your defenses down and really listen to what these voices are saying. The quotes are direct and come from Black staff all over the organization. They don't try to speak for all Black activists, but the issues they speak to will ring true for many white activists and allies.</p><p>Chances are, a lot will be uncomfortable to hear (and if it's not, we'd suggest some real reflection). But if we're going to confront injustice in the world, we've got to start by confronting it in ourselves.</p>
1. What Our Black Colleagues Want the Rest of Us to Know About Culture
<p><strong>Black People Are Not a Monolith</strong></p><p>"Whether in terms of appearance, experience, personal interests or opinion, Black people are not a monolith. We come in many shades, shapes, and colors. Our hair comes in many textures and styles. We represent different opinions and interests. We represent a myriad of cultures and community experiences. These are not pop cultural trends, but are reflective of who we are as individuals. While there may be some common themes, just as with any culture, Black people are still individuals and should be recognized as such." </p><p><strong>We Have Experienced Racism </strong></p><p>"Most of us have experienced racism in some shape or form. Whether it's a derogatory name, gaslighting, second-guessing our success as the result of external charity rather than individual prowess, or a denial of history (statements like "slavery wasn't that bad"), it's there. It manifests in many different ways, and we learn to recognize it at an early age. Our reactions to this reality are as diverse as we are as individuals. Each of us are experts on our individual experience and, while there may be some overlap, our individual experience it is not necessarily fully representative of the Black experience. Also, we don't all necessarily agree on everything nor do we all know each other." </p><p><strong>It's Not Our Job to Educate You</strong></p><p>"As a Black person, it is not our job to educate you on the Black experience or race. Having conversations on race are fine (and necessary), but recognize it is not something you are owed. If we choose to engage, understand that it is often through mixed emotion of frustration, anger, and microaggressions. Also recognize that if we do choose to engage with you, it is often a good sign not that you've gotten it all right, but that we think there is hope for you before you're too far gone. Appreciate that."</p><p><strong>Black Comes in All Shades</strong></p><p>"People who are of a lighter skin aren't necessarily mixed. Black comes in all shades."</p><p><strong>Black Culture Is Not for Your Entertainment</strong></p><p>"My culture is not for your entertainment. I have spent a lifetime fighting stereotypes so I don't wear straight back cornrows or outfits that show my shape. I stay away from color and wear blue, black, and gray. We are taught that our natural way of being is ghetto. Then other races co-opt our style, music, and slang, and it is considered 'pop culture' and 'fashion forward.'"</p>2. About Privilege
<p><strong>White Privilege Is a Symptom of Racism</strong></p><p>"Recognize your privilege. Just a short time ago, most Americans thought that police killings of Black Americans were isolated events. Now, most agree that there is a systemic problem. White privilege is a symptom of racism. It is critical for white people to have uncomfortable conversations about race so that they can recognize their privilege and understand how they benefit from a society that is profoundly separate and unequal. Just as people of color did nothing to deserve unequal treatment, white people did not 'earn' disproportionate access to compassion and fairness."</p><p><strong>White Privilege Means We Carry a Burden That You Do Not</strong></p><p>"The fact that you just recently started thinking deeply about these issues is a sign of your white privilege. I've had to discuss racial injustice at my dinner table for my entire life, not just the last few weeks. When you grow tired of the news stories about racial injustice, you can unplug and go for a run or walk your dog in the park. Those same innocent activities can turn deadly for me, so I don't have the 'privilege' to unplug."</p>3. About Ally-ship
<p><strong>You Need to Do the Work Yourself</strong></p><p>"I am tired and trying to stay afloat, so I can't always be a source for your political education. Being an ally requires extensively educating yourself on colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy, racism, and anti-Blackness. Part of the work is finding these resources with your community."</p><p><strong>Ally-ship Means Asking Hard Questions</strong></p><p>"Solidarity is advocating for material change in our fight to end all state sanctioned violence. Questions to ask yourself: Are you willing to relinquish your comfort and power? What are you willing to risk? Are you prepared to be on the frontline? Why now? Has your guilt brought you here? How will you keep the momentum? What does ally-ship mean? Are you ready to interrogate your own internalized anti-Blackness?"</p><p><strong>We Are Not Here for Your Photo Op</strong></p><p>You will not exploit or destroy my relationships in my community. I will NEVER let my people be a photo opportunity for your grant project, board of directors meetings, or anything else. I can make an introduction but you need to put in the work because we believe in transformational relationships, not transactional ones."</p><p><strong>Words Matter</strong></p><p>"When listening to our liberal and progressive white allies speak and the mainstream media, they have a way of using verbiage and unwittingly pushing dog whistles that sound like bullhorns to the Black community. Words matter and how things are framed matter. If there is a group of Black people with guns, they are 'thugs' and 'gangs.' When they are white they are a 'militia.' When white people are suspected of committing a crime the word 'allegedly' is used 99.9 percent of the time. George Floyd was murdered by the police because someone called them because he passed a fake $20 in a store. He has never been convicted of that. He 'allegedly' passed a fake $20 in a store. And by not using this word, you are assigning guilt that is not appropriate and it criminalizes him to justify his death."</p>4. About Racism and White Supremacy
<p><strong>Racism Is Traumatic</strong></p><p>"The shock that many of you experienced after watching George Floyd's murder on camera is reflective of the shock that many in our communities live with every day. The fatigue some of you have expressed from a few weeks of racial upheaval — we've lived with that and then some for generations. We've lived with the frustration of communities for decades screaming that this was happening to us, only to have society turn a blind eye. We live with this trauma. And we still show up to work. We still achieve. We still smile, despite the pain. Recognize this — and not for sympathy, but for solidarity."</p><p><strong>Our Lives Always Matter</strong></p><p>"Black lives don't only matter when we are already dead. Our lives always matter. Solidarity is redistributing your wealth and resources. Organize for the liberation of all Black people globally. Believe Black people. Protect all Black lives."</p><p><strong>Use Your Privilege to Fix Racism</strong></p><p>"We don't directly blame you for racism; we know this has been around long before you were born. But please realize you have privilege due to racism and though you didn't start it, you have the power to fix it."</p>From Your Site Articles
- 15 EcoWatch Stories on Environmental and Racial Injustice ... ›
- Pollution, Race and the Search for Justice - EcoWatch ›
- 4 Climate Activists Explain Why the Climate-Justice Movement ... ›
- As Protests Rage, Climate Activists Embrace Racial Justice ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Police officers pepper spray a woman next to the Colorado State Capitol as protests against the death of George Floyd continue for a third night on May 30 in Denver, Colorado. Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
By Jake Johnson
A federal judge late Friday issued a temporary order barring the Denver Police Department from using projectiles and chemical weapons such as tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, condemning the conduct of some officers against protesters across the nation in recent days as "disgusting."
<p>"The time is past to rely solely on the good faith and discretion of the Denver Police Department and its colleagues from other jurisdictions," wrote Judge R. Brooke Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in his 11-page <a href="https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/06/16-Order-Granting-in-Part-TRO-Abay.pdf" target="_blank">order</a>. "The Denver Police Depart has failed in its duty to police its own."</p>
<p>The restraining order, which took effect immediately, comes in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of four Denver protesters who said the use of "pepper spray, pepper balls, rubber bullets, flashbang grenades, and tear gas" by city police during a May 28 demonstration against the killing of George Floyd violated their constitutional rights. Jackson's ruling came just hours after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, imposed a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/501442-seattle-mayor-temporarily-bans-use-of-tear-gas" target="_blank">30-day ban</a> on police use of tear gas, which is <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/06/fact-check-its-true-tear-gas-chemical-weapon-banned-war/3156448001/" target="_blank">banned</a> in warfare.</p>
<p>"If immediate relief is not granted, plaintiffs' speech would be chilled and outright denied over the next several days or weeks of demonstrations," Jackson wrote. "Indeed, irreparable harm has already occurred in the form of physical injury and the suppression of speech."</p><p>"People have an absolute right to demonstrate and protest the actions of governmental officials, including police officers," Jackson continued. "It is one of the many freedoms on which this country was built ... Citizens should never have to fear peaceful protest on the basis of police retaliation, especially not when protesting that very same police violence."</p>
<p>While Jackson's order was described as "<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/06/05/denver-george-floyd-protests-federal-order/" target="_blank">extraordinary</a>" and applauded as a positive step that should be <a href="https://twitter.com/_NickRogers_/status/1269114124463734785" target="_blank">replicated nationwide</a>, it is not without loopholes. As the Colorado Sun <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/06/05/denver-george-floyd-protests-federal-order/" target="_blank">reported</a>, Jackson's order allows Denver police to use chemical agents and some projectiles against demonstrators "if an on-scene supervisor at the rank of captain or above specifically authorizes such use of force in response to specific acts of violence or destruction of personal property that the supervisor witnessed."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/06/condemning-police-conduct-disgusting-federal-judge-bars-denver-cops-using-chemical" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
19 Individuals and Organizations Building Stronger Black Communities and Food Systems
06 June
Insights + Opinion
These 19 organizations and individuals represent a small portion of the efforts underway to fight racism and inequality and to build stronger Black communities and food systems. rez-art / Getty Images
By Danielle Nierenberg
Following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, people around the United States are protesting racism, police brutality, inequality, and violence in their own communities. No matter your political affiliation, the violence by multiple police departments in this country is unacceptable.
<p>We must remember and honor the memory of people including Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and David McAtee, the owner of a barbecue restaurant in Louisville who was killed by police during protests. These murders are a travesty and something that should not happen in the United States of America—or any nation.</p><p>It's time for people of all backgrounds to not only denounce violence, but to actively use their voices, dollars, and power to demand change. I'm in awe of the many people who have been working for years to restore democracy, empathy, and equality to this country. </p><p>These 19 organizations and individuals represent a small portion of the efforts underway to fight racism and inequality and to build stronger Black communities and food systems, and I hope you'll join me in supporting them.</p>
<p><strong>1. </strong><a href="http://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Anti Police-Terror Project</strong></a></p><p>The Anti Police-Terror Project is a Black-led, multi-generational coalition of people working to end police terror in communities. Based in Oakland and Sacramento, California, APTP is building a sustainable model for justice that can be replicated around the country. They also document police abuses and help impacted families access legal and healing resources.</p><p><strong>2. </strong><a href="https://www.blackchurchfoodsecurity.net/" target="_blank"><strong>Black Church Food Security Network</strong></a></p><p>Based in Baltimore but operating nationally, the Black Church Food Security Network aims to support gardening and farming within Black churches. They establish agricultural projects on church land, connect farmers to congregational markets, and create asset maps of Black churches and surrounding neighborhoods to help better use resources. They also operate <a href="https://www.blackchurchfoodsecurity.net/black-farmer-network" target="_blank">a small directory and interactive map</a> of faith-based Black farmers across the East Coast, Midwest, and southeastern U.S.</p><p><strong>3. </strong><a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Black Lives Matter</strong></a></p><p>Black Lives Matter, a movement created in response to murders of innocent Black people by police and vigilantes, works to build power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe. Black Lives Matter is a broad coalition and affirms the lives of Black people across the gender spectrum, of all abilities, and of any documentation status.</p>
<p><strong>4. </strong><a href="https://www.blackurbangrowers.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Black Urban Growers Association</strong></a></p><p>Black Urban Growers maintains a network and community support in order to foster Black leadership in food and farm advocacy. Their programs include the Black Farmers & Urban Gardeners Conference, a national conference started in 2010 that brings together Black farmers, advocates, chefs, and communities to share their best practices and leadership efforts.</p><p><strong>5. </strong><a href="http://www.detroitblackfoodsecurity.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Detroit Black Community Food Security Network</strong></a></p><p>The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network is working on the ground in Detroit, Michigan, to ensure that the local urban agriculture movement is racially and socially inclusive. It was founded in 2006 to mobilize the Black community to address food insecurity challenges, and the network believes that the most effective movements grow organically within the communities they are designed to benefit. They operate organic urban farm sites, various local food policy initiatives, and a cooperative food-buying program for community residents.</p><p><strong>6. </strong><a href="http://dreamingoutloud.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Dreaming Out Loud</strong></a></p><p>Washington D.C. nonprofit Dreaming Out Loud works to create healthier, more equitable food systems in low-income communities. Dreaming Out Loud supports economic opportunity-building with their two-acre farm, several community gardens and farmers markets, and a food business accelerator. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they partnered with Little Sesame restaurant to provide free meals for people of all ages every weekday afternoon.</p>
<p><strong>7. </strong><a href="https://fairfight.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Fair Fight</strong></a></p><p>One of the most impactful ways to participate in democracy is by voting, but many people, particularly in minority communities, face structural barriers against having their voices be heard. Fair Fight was founded by Stacey Abrams, who lost a close race for Georgia governor in 2018 amid allegations that her opponent, then-state Secretary of State Brian Kemp, had engaged in voter suppression. The organization aims to end voter suppression, make sure everyone can access their constitutional right to vote, and fight for fairer elections. You can <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fairfight-2020-dtd" target="_blank">donate online here</a>.</p><p><strong>8. Jamila Norman of </strong><a href="https://www.patchworkcityfarms.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Patchwork City Farms</strong></a></p><p>Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Jamila Norman is a world-renowned urban farmer and food activist. In 2010, Norman founded Patchwork City Farms, a certified naturally grown organic urban farm where Norman farms—and provides the local community with safe and nutritious foods. Norman is also co-founder of EAT Where You Are, an initiative that aims to spread awareness of the importance of including fresh foods in diets, and is the manager and one of the founding members of the South West Atlanta Growers Cooperative, which helps Black farmers create equitable, sustainable, responsible food systems.</p><p><strong>9. Karen Washington, founder of </strong><a href="http://www.riseandrootfarm.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Rise and Root Farm</strong></a></p><p>Karen Washington, a farmer and community activist, wants to build a different agricultural narrative, inclusive of all races, genders, and sexualities. She created Rise and Root Farm to be a place of healing for diverse and marginalized communities—particularly important today, as black farmers work to call attention to not only their own contributions to the modern food system but also the impact of the slave trade on the development of global food chains. "Agriculture must be inclusive in its diversity," Washington tells Food Tank.</p>
<p><strong>10. </strong><a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/" target="_blank"><strong>La Via Campesina</strong></a></p><p>La Via Campesina is an international coalition of organizations that defend food sovereignty as a way to promote social justice and worker dignity. They built a movement that amplifies the voices of smallholder peasant farmers and aims to decentralize the power of corporate-driven agriculture, which they argue is destructive to the environment and social relations.</p><p><strong>11. Leah Penniman, founder of </strong><a href="http://www.soulfirefarm.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Soul Fire Farm</strong></a></p><p>Soul Fire Farm grows food as an act of solidarity with those oppressed by food apartheid while maintaining respect for their ancestors, history, and the environment. Soul Fire Farm conducts training programs to raise the next generation of activist-farmers and support food sovereignty for future communities. The organization's Co-Director Leah Penniman recently completed a book, "Farming While Black," a guide for African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity.</p><p><strong>12. </strong><a href="https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory" target="_blank"><strong>National Bail Fund Network</strong></a></p><p>The <a href="https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory" target="_blank">National Bail Fund Network</a> is a directory of bail funds in over 30 states, which free unfairly detained people from jail and fight to end the cash bail system. Donations to local and national bail funds support jailed protesters who are not only at risk for being prosecuted unfairly, but who are also at risk for contracting COVID-19 while detained.</p>
<p><strong>13. </strong><a href="http://www.blackfoodjustice.org/" target="_blank"><strong>National Black Food and Justice Alliance</strong></a></p><p>A coalition of Black-led organizations, the National Black Food and Justice Alliance builds Black self-determination around food and land sovereignty. They accomplish this through community organizing and increasing visibility of Black narratives, visions, and achievements. In 2018, co-founder Dara Cooper was honored with a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award "for dedicating her life to racial equity and justice in the food system and increasing capacity and visibility of Black-led narratives and work."</p><p><strong>14. </strong><a href="https://plantingjustice.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Planting Justice</strong></a></p><p>In Oakland, California, Planting Justice builds economic justice and food sovereignty among communities impacted by mass incarceration. Planting Justice teaches gardening skills to people while in prison and offers them paid positions after release. Planting Justice has planted over 500 gardens in the Bay Area, <a href="https://oaklandnorth.net/2019/09/20/planting-justice-celebrates-10-years-of-cultivating-gardening-skills-for-incarcerated-people/" target="_blank">offered</a> reentry employment opportunities to over 40 people, and helped people <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2019/04/30/indigenous-women-reclaim-stolen-land-california-bay-area/" target="_blank">reconnect</a> with the land.</p><p><strong>15. </strong><a href="https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home/#about" target="_blank"><strong>Reclaim the Block</strong></a></p><p>A Minneapolis-based organization, <a href="https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home/#about" target="_blank">Reclaim the Block</a> works to reallocate city money away from police and instead toward community-led health and safety initiatives. They have assembled an extensive digital toolkit to help communities in all cities and states advocate for divestiture from police. You can support them via <a href="https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2" target="_blank">donations</a> or by <a href="https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home/#petition" target="_blank">signing their petition</a> encouraging the Minneapolis City Council to redirect police department funding toward resources for Black and Indigenous communities.</p>
<p><strong>16. </strong><a href="https://soilgeneration.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Soil Generation</strong></a></p><p>Based in Philadelphia, Soil Generation is a Black- and Brown-led coalition with a vision for "a people's agroecology"—a combination of environmental and food justice with a focus on community self-representation, anti-racism training, education, and advocacy. Soil Generation has successfully worked with the city council to <a href="https://www.pubintlaw.org/current-cases-projects-public-health/soil-generation/" target="_blank">amend</a> a bill that would have put urban gardens at risk and continues to actively <a href="https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/philly-s-farm-chief-kicks-off-plan-to-save-endangered/article_fb129084-810a-538d-a9bf-8ce3b0642a7c.html" target="_blank">campaign</a> for rights to vacant lots.</p><p><strong>17. <a href="https://civileats.com/author/tfields/" target="_blank">Tanya Fields </a>of the Black Feminist Project</strong></p><p>As founder and executive director of The Black Feminist Project, <a href="https://civileats.com/author/tfields/" target="_blank">Tanya Fields</a> is a food justice activist and educator. Fields started the <a href="https://theblkprojek.wordpress.com/programs/urban-farming-the-libertad-urban-farm-project/" target="_blank">Libertad Urban Farm</a>, an organic urban garden in the Bronx, as an effort to address the lack of nutritious food and food education accessible to low-income people, specifically underserved women of color. Additionally, Fields works closely with The Hunts Point Farm Share, connecting city residents to high-quality local produce through community-supported agriculture.</p><p><strong>18. </strong><a href="https://tonitiptonmartin.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Toni Tipton-Martin</strong></a></p><p>Toni Tipton-Martin, based in Baltimore, Maryland, works on a series of endeavors to promote food justice. She has written two James Beard Award-winning books that trace Black cuisine, <a href="https://gardenandgun.com/articles/talking-toni-tipton-martin/" target="_blank">Jubilee</a> and <a href="https://gardenandgun.com/articles/talking-toni-tipton-martin/" target="_blank">The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbook</a>. Martin served as the president of Southern Foodways Alliance board of directors and was the first Black food editor at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Additionally, Martin founded the SANDE Youth Project, a nonprofit organization that works with children to combat obesity while supporting Black food culture.</p><p><strong>19. </strong><a href="https://urbangrowerscollective.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Urban Growers Collective</strong></a></p><p>The Urban Growers Collective operates eight urban farms on 11 acres of land in Chicago's South Side and works with more than 33 partner organizations to create economic opportunity and boost healthy food access. Each farm uses organic methods and integrates education, leadership training, and food production. The organization was co-founded by Laurell Sims and <a href="https://urbangrowerscollective.org/team/erikaallen/" target="_blank">Erika Allen</a>, a visual artist and food advocate who works to use creativity for social change.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/19-individuals-and-organizations-building-stronger-black-communities-and-food-systems/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Trending
As Protests Rage Over George Floyd’s Death, Climate Activists Embrace Racial Justice
04 June
Popular
People march along Hiawatha Avenue on May 26, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to protest the killing of George Floyd. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images
By Ilana Cohen, Evelyn Nieves, Judy Fahys, Marianne Lavelle, James Bruggers
When New York Communities for Change helped lead a demonstration of 500 on Monday in Brooklyn to protest George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis, the grassroots group's activism spoke to a long-standing link between police violence against African Americans and environmental justice.
<p>Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE, Brooklyn's oldest Latino community-based organization, said she considers showing up to fight police brutality and racial violence integral to her climate change activism.</p><p>Bronx Climate Justice North, another grassroots group, <a href="https://bronxclimatejusticenorth.wordpress.com/about-us/climate-justice/" target="_blank">says on its website</a>: "Without a focus on correcting injustice, work on climate change addresses only symptoms, and not root causes."</p><p>These community organizations in New York have been joined in protest by the nation's most prominent climate change activist groups, including the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2020/05/sierra-club-statement-murder-george-floyd" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, <a href="https://350.org/dismantle-white-supremacy/" target="_blank">350.org</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/NRDC/status/1267523957831368704" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, the <a href="https://medium.com/sunrisemvmt/the-climate-justice-movement-must-oppose-white-supremacy-everywhere-by-supporting-m4bl-4e338cf91b19" target="_blank">Sunrise Movement</a> and <a href="https://www.xrebellion.nyc/news/we-stand-in-solidarity" target="_blank">Extinction Rebellion</a>.</p><p>"NRDC has a responsibility to be fully and visibly committed to the fight against systemic racism and for justice, equity and hope," Gina McCarthy, its president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. </p><p>"We have marched to the Lincoln Memorial," Friends of the Earth tweeted Tuesday night, "where we are joining thousands of peaceful protesters sitting and standing face-to-face with law enforcement. #BlackLivesMatter"</p><p>While some established, and predominantly white, climate and environmental organizations have struggled with diversity in their ranks and faced criticism for being disconnected from communities of color, there are clear signs that they are becoming increasingly focused on racial and environmental justice.</p><p>The Rev. Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest who is executive director of GreenFaith, a global religious-based climate action network based in Highland Park, New Jersey posted on his blog: "For too long, the environmental movement has not been concerned enough about the destruction that climate change wreaks on Black and Brown communities around the world. For too long, we haven't been concerned enough about Black and Brown people who can't breathe because they are carrying the weight of climate change and White supremacy."</p>
<p>Patrick Houston, climate and inequality campaigns organizer for New York Communities for Change, said he believes the broader climate movement is "becoming much more open to listening and understanding the struggles of the black community" by connecting "overt racism and violence" with "overlooked racism" stemming from proximity to power plants and other fossil fuel infrastructure.<br></p><p>This new show of solidarity, he said, reflects "a work in progress that must continue."<span></span></p><p>Yeampierre, who is also co-chair of the national Climate Justice Alliance, shares Houston's hope and skepticism. Given what she considers a historically "extractive" use of the climate justice narrative by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/10/naomi-klein-green-groups-climate-deniers" target="_blank">"big green"</a> organizations, she said those groups must take direction from Black Lives Matter organizers in protesting Floyd's killing.</p><p>Alexandria Villaseñor, the 15-year-old climate activist who is co-founder of the U.S. Youth Climate Strike and founder of Earth Uprising, emphatically agreed. "I think that true solidarity is giving Black Lives Matter organizers platforms, donations and putting our bodies out there on the streets with them," she said. "We know that there is no climate justice without racial justice. The exploitation of black people is the greatest extractive system of production of all time and in order to heal the planet, we must have black and indigenous liberation."</p><p>While both environmental racism and police brutality have long histories in the United States and in New York City—Floyd's death comes six years after the killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, in a chokehold by a white police officer in 2014—the city's leading youth-led environmental groups, including Extinction Rebellion, the Sunrise Movement and Fridays of the Future, did not exist before 2017.</p><p>Villaseñor said she has been pleased over the past week to see organizers with both Extinction Rebellion and Sunrise on the ground in solidarity with racial justice advocates. </p>
<p>Jonathan Kirsch, social media coordinator for the Sunrise Movement's NYC hub, said that the organization has "acknowledged that we are not the authority right now to be commenting on what is being said by the black community."</p><p>He added: "We are here to support our black and brown friends and family in this moment, so that their voices are the ones that should be heard—as they always should be heard." </p><p>A similar focus on racial and environmental justice by climate change and environmental activists was evident around the nation Tuesday as protests again took to the streets in dozens of cities eight days after Floyd's death. The officer who pinned the handcuffed man to the ground with a knee to his neck, Derek Chauvin, has been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and charged with third-degree murder.</p><p>Mark Reynolds, executive director of Citizens Climate Lobby, said the group—which has volunteers in every Congressional district pushing for bipartisan carbon pricing legislation—is making plans to offer additional training to its volunteers on racism, privilege, bias and diversity in the environmental movement. There also will be a seminar in racial justice included in the group's upcoming annual conference, which will be held online in June.</p><p>"It's not enough simply to list diversity as one of our values," Reynolds said in a blog post addressed to the group's members who are black and people of color. "The best way we can proclaim that Black lives matter to CCL, and that we care deeply about your wellbeing and your safety and your happiness, is for us to take concrete action." </p><p>He added, "Like climate change, there is no simple fix for racism—but we will not shy away from doing our part in this vital work." </p>
<p>Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Boston-based Environmental Voter Project, said that environmentalists have a special duty to speak out on racial injustice.</p><p>In the battle to protect the planet, he said, "every fight we enter is also a choice about whom to protect—will we protect the privileged or the oppressed, the heard or the unheard, those who feel the brunt of environmental impacts or those who don't?"</p><p>Stinnett said his group, which works to identify environmental voters and get them to the polls, will redouble its efforts to fight for equality in ballot access as part of its work. "Fighting structural racism is—and must be—integral to the environmental movement's mission," he said.</p><p>In Louisville, where thousands of protesters have also been chanting the name of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/14/breonna-taylor-what-know-louisville-emt-killed-police/5189743002/" target="_blank">Breonna Taylor</a>, an African American killed by police March 13 while they were serving a nighttime "no-knock" search warrant, environmental activists have been among those expressing outrage. </p><p>"Different faith leaders were speaking out about the violence that is perpetrated against black people in Louisville and across our country, and how that is against our values," said the Rev. Dawn Cooley, who is executive director of Louisville-based Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light, a coalition of faith communities that advocates for action on climate change.</p><p>Cooley said it is easy to find a connection between climate justice "and the system of racism in our country and in our world. And the same people who are struggling for their basic human rights in America and the larger world are the same people being most impacted by climate change."</p><p>Racial and ethnic minorities, she noted, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/racial-ethnic-minorities.html" target="_blank">are bearing</a> a disproportionate burden of illness and death from the novel coronavirus pandemic.</p>
'I Worry About My Kids and Their Kids'
<p>Watching the events of recent days unfold have been very painful for Arnita Gadson, a veteran environmental justice advocate who has played a pivotal role helping to keep a large chemical industry in Louisville accountable through a local task force, and also serves as Kentucky's Environmental Climate Justice Chair for the NAACP.</p><p>She is contributing to a local climate adaptation plan, and that work has continued through the recent strife, Gadson said, adding, "but I've been scared.</p><p>"I am a black woman living in a white world," she said. "If I go out, I might get shot and I may get killed. I worry about my kids and their kids."</p><p>In Salt Lake City, Utah, Grace Olscamp has been reaching out on social media, calling on environmentalists to do more than pledge support for people of color on behalf of the environmental group HEAL Utah, which has focused for two decades on hazardous and nuclear waste, as well as air pollution and climate change.</p><p>"It shouldn't have taken us this long to really step up and take action," said Olscamp, HEAL's communications director, noting that she, the group's staff and many of its members are white and "definitely in a place of privilege."</p><p>It's a problem among environmental organizations, generally, that they have failed to include more people of color and to hold themselves accountable for working toward real change.</p><p>She started a Twitter thread Monday by saying: "Protecting the environment must include protecting the health & lives of others. Without recognizing this & acting on it, the environmental movement will be spinning its wheels. The roots of the disproportionate impacts of things like pollution are tied to systemic racism."</p><p>"We need to actually speak out and make a stand and not beat around the bush about it," she said in an interview. "We need to protect black lives."</p><p>Olscamp said that means working with state and federal lawmakers toward creating better policies and eliminating policies that place a heavier pollution burden on poor communities and communities of color. She added that it will be important to keep conversations about equity on the agenda among the group's 15,000 grassroots members, urging them, for instance, to press for changes in their workplaces and local government.</p><p>On the West Coast, The California Water Blog, a must read for environmentalists, journalists and scientists published by the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, suspended all discussions of water this week in solidarity with the protests. </p><p>Monday's Cal Water Blog post was titled "Black Lives Matter."</p><p>The post, signed by the center's executive committee, whose members include biologists, geologists, engineers and legal scholars, said: "Institutional racism is urgent and real, and should divert us from topics of California water at this time. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others are horrific, and the effects of a pandemic are disproportionately affecting communities of color. At the Center for Watershed Sciences, we acknowledge that while we strive for equity and inclusion in our science in line with our Principles of Community, we have a long way to go to address racism and unconscious bias."</p><p>The post went on to encourage "everyone to have the hard conversations and do the hard work" to support all people in our communities. "It is moments like this that remind us that bearing witness to racism and injustice is critical and must be a core part of our mission." The blog included links to resources compiled by the Graduate Group in Ecology's Diversity Committee, including several under the heading "Ways white people can take action for racial justice."</p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Andrew Rypel, an associate professor of biology at UC Davis, wrote the California Water Blog post. He said a team was putting together the usual weekly science blog and "just realized this is ridiculous. The focus should not be on business as usual right now."</span></p><p>"I think we're at an inflection point right now," he added, "where voices matter and using your platforms matter and we thought it was important to point these things out."</p><p>The blog, he said, has gotten a tremendous response, overwhelmingly positive. "Mostly, people have thanked us," he said. "It was tough to write that and tough to think about that because we all play a role in how bad the situation has gotten. In some ways, I look back at the 1960s and it makes me so sad that we haven't made much progress."</p><p>For the California Environmental Justice Alliance, a coalition of 10 grassroots environmental justice groups throughout the state, supporting the ongoing protests is no stretch. </p><p>The coalition's focus is on supporting and creating state policies that protect communities of color from bearing the brunt of fossil fuel pollution and other environmental hazards and offenses. Core members include Communities for a Better Environment, the Environmental Health Coalition and Center for community action and Environmental Justice.</p><p>Gladys Limon, the justice alliance's executive director, said the same racist system that exploits these communities, "pillaging the earth" and degrading the health and life expectancies of black and brown people, has led to "the heinous murders," that have upended cities across the country.</p><p>Members of the alliance as well as alliance staffers have been participating in the protests, speaking out and issuing statements in support, she said.</p><p>"Why wouldn't anyone stand with Black Lives Matter and all those rising up against the heinous murders of black people at the hands of our government," Limon said. "All social justice organizations and simply people of good conscience and those who believe in the promise of our country should be outraged and calling for justice, black liberation and systemic change."</p>
<p class=""><em style="">This story originally appeared in <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/" target="_blank">Inside Climate News</a></em> <em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- 4 Climate Activists Explain Why the Climate-Justice Movement ... ›
- Why Defending Indigenous Rights Is Integral to Fighting Climate ... ›
- Pollution, Race and the Search for Justice - EcoWatch ›
- Saturday Is National Trails Day. This Year It's Very Different - EcoWatch ›
- Black Environmentalists Are Organizing to Save the Planet From Injustice - EcoWatch ›
- Race and the Climate Movement: What Our Black Colleagues Want the Rest of Us to Know - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
During a protest action on May 30 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Datteln in front of the site of the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant, Greenpeace activists projected the lettering: "Climate crisis - Made in Germany" onto the cooling tower. Guido Kirchner / picture alliance / Getty Images
Around 500 climate activists on Saturday gathered outside the new Datteln 4 coal power plant in Germany's Ruhr region, to protest against its opening.
<p>Fridays for Future, Greenpeace, as well as German groups Ende Gelände and the German Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) were represented at the protests.</p><p>During the night into Saturday, climate activists graffitied the slogan "Climate crisis, made in Germany" on the side of the tower.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-activists-protest-germanys-new-datteln-4-coal-power-plant/a-53632887" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646137253#/" target="_self"></a></em><em></em></p>
<p>The plant, owned by Dusseldorf-based energy company Uniper, began running on Saturday, after a nearly 10-year delay to its initial start date. It fired up just months after Germany unveiled a plan to phase out coal by 2038.</p>
<p>The protests were reported to be largely peaceful, despite several actions during the day-long event. One action included members of Ende Gelände swimming and using canoes in a canal used for cooling, while holding a floating banner with the slogan: "Shut it down."</p>
<div id="9e242" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="38e575ed16e09279dfea210cafaa44f0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1263057783290724353" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Klimaprotest in Zeiten von #Corona ist nicht leicht. Aber wir machen es möglich, denn notwendig ist es offensichtli… https://t.co/oKazEWwaGv</div> — Luisa Neubauer (@Luisa Neubauer)<a href="https://twitter.com/Luisamneubauer/statuses/1263057783290724353">1589971416.0</a></blockquote></div>
Climate Activists Speak Out
<p>Speaking at the protest, German Fridays for Futures climate activist Luisa Neubauer said: "It's a post-factual power plant. The facts speak for themselves." She said it was a "provocation," to mark the planned coal phaseout with a new coal power plant.</p><p>"We're going to stop this power plant, we're going to bring it to a standstill, we will win this conflict," Neubauer added.</p><p>Former miners also attended the protest. "We condemn the fact that coal mining in Germany was halted and jobs were lost, only for coal now to be imported from other countries to power Datteln 4," said Sebastian Suszka, a former workers' council member.</p><p>Greta Thunberg, founder of climate activist movement Fridays for Futures tweeted that Saturday was "a shameful day for Europe.</p><div id="e0ee4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c4980f9c8b3d58f5d4075f5174690372"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1266646886896881664" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today is a shameful day for Europe, as we open up a brand new coal power plant. We have signed up to lead the way t… https://t.co/BFX5PcGejv</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1266646886896881664">1590827125.0</a></blockquote></div>
Germany's Coal Phaseout
<p>Earlier this year, Germany announced a roadmap to see coal phased out, at the latest by 2038. It laid out plans for eight coal-fired power plants to be taken off the grid in 2020.</p><p>It was an important step for the largest contributor of carbon emissions in the EU — accounting for more than 22 percent of the bloc's CO2 emissions. Over a third of the electricity generated in Germany comes from burning coal.</p><p>Germany's coal commission has recommended that solutions be found for coal plants that are already built but not-yet-in-use to keep them from operating.<br></p><p>The state of North-Rhine Westphalia insisted that the additional carbon dioxide emissions from the new plant would be compensated by the closure of four other power plants.</p>From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
The Ministry of Trade issued a regulation revoking its decision from February to no longer require Indonesian timber companies to obtain export licenses that certify the wood comes from legal sources. BAY ISMOYO / AFP / Getty Images
By Hans Nicholas Jong
The Indonesian government has backed down from a decision to scrap its timber legality verification process for wood export, amid criticism from activists and the prospect of being shut out of the lucrative European market.
<p>On May 11, the Ministry of Trade issued <a href="http://jdih.kemendag.go.id/peraturan/detail/1998/2" target="_blank">a regulation</a> revoking its decision from February to no longer require Indonesian timber companies to obtain export licenses that certify the wood comes from legal sources. That earlier decision caught environmental activists, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and even timber businesses by surprise, prompting a widespread outcry.</p><p>Sulistyawati, the trade ministry's director of forestry product exports, said that with the revocation, the export process would go back to the previous system. She <a href="https://kompas.id/baca/humaniora/ilmu-pengetahuan-teknologi/2020/05/14/lemahkan-sistem-verifikasi-legalitas-kayu-peraturan-menteri-perdagangan-dicabut/" target="_blank">said</a> the revocation was in accordance with a request from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.</p><p>Under the trade ministry's <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/indonesia-timber-illegal-logging-legality-license-svlk/" target="_blank">controversial February regulation</a>, which would have taken effect on May 27, exporters would no longer have needed to obtain licenses verifying that their timber and finished wood products come from legal sources. The so-called v-legal ("verified legal") licenses are at the heart of Indonesia's timber legality verification system, or SVLK, which took the country a decade to develop and implement in an effort to tackle illegal logging.</p>
<p>The European Union, one of the key markets for Indonesian timber and finished wood products, <a href="https://www.euflegt.efi.int/background-indonesia" target="_blank">recognizes the SVLK</a> as the basis for importing timber from Indonesia into its market. Scrapping the standard would have <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/indonesia-eu-timber-wood-legality-svlk-license-logging/" target="_blank">jeopardized exports to the EU</a>, experts warned. Activists were also quick to <a href="https://theconversation.com/penghapusan-syarat-lisensi-kayu-bisa-tingkatkan-penebangan-liar-dan-beri-citra-buruk-pada-produk-mebel-lokal-136509" target="_blank">criticize</a> the move, saying it would open up the black market for illegally logged timber.</p><p>Businesses, meanwhile, were worried the decision would undermine hard-won gains for the reputation of Indonesian timber, which was heavily associated with illegal logging in the past.</p><p>A recent poll by Gadjah Mada University showed that nearly half of 137 timber businesses surveyed felt ending the v-legal license requirement for exports would harm their business. Industry groups in key export markets have also raised questions about the policy, including the International Wood Product Association (IWPA) in the United States and the Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF).</p>
<p>The Indonesian Furniture Entrepreneurs Association (Asmindo), a trade group, welcomed the government's U-turn and reinstatement of the v-legal license requirement. Robert Wijaya, the deputy head of regulation reviews at Asmindo, said the rationale that the licensing requirement put an onerous burden on exporters was baseless. He said data from the national statistics agency, the BPS, showed Indonesia's furniture exports increasing since the implementation of the SVLK.</p><p>In 2019, Indonesia exported $1.95 billion worth of wood furniture, a 14.6% increase from 2018.</p><p>"So it's not true that the SVLK is said to be hampering exports," Robert said.</p><p>Muhammad Kosar, from the Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK), which keeps track of the SVLK's implementation, said the trade ministry's about-face showed the lack of coordination between government institutions. As a result, he said, different government departments have different interpretations of the importance of the system.</p>
<p>Krystof Obidzinski, a timber legality expert at the European Forest Institute, agreed that appreciation of the SVLK and associated export agreement with the EU might have declined in recent few years. Thus it's important to communicate the importance of the SVLK to ministries other than the environment ministry, the main proponent of the system, so that the SVLK isn't jeopardized in the future, he said.</p><p>"Communication and understanding of the SVLK outside the environment ministry are very minimal," Obidzinski said. "Maybe that's because [of] staff turnover or other interests. So to increase export and [strengthen] the SVLK, it's important to build bridges with other ministries so that the level [of understanding] can be the same."</p><p>Under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/indonesia-eu-sign-historic-deal-to-end-the-illegal-timber-trade/" target="_blank">signed</a> in 2013, all timber shipped to the EU from Indonesia must be certified under the SVLK, which aims to track the chain of custody of timber products and ensure that timber is harvested in compliance with Indonesian law. The agreement also requires Indonesia to commit to SVLK certification for all timber exports — not just to the EU — as well as timber traded in the domestic market.</p>
<p>That stringent implementation of checks at every stage of the process was the justification for cited by the trade ministry for dispensing with the requirement at the end stage — exports. In making this argument, the ministry adopted the main talking point of the Indonesian Furniture and Craft Association (HIMKI), a trade body that has been at the forefront of the lobbying efforts to drop the SVLK requirement for producers of finished wood items. It <a href="https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20180826/257/831697/kenapa-svlk-di-industri-hilir-mebel-perlu-dihapus-ini-jawabannya" target="_blank">argued</a> that if a piece of timber has already been legally certified at the logging stage, then there's no need to continue with legality checks further on down the line, including for exporters.</p><p>HIMKI chairman Sunoto denounced the trade ministry's backtracking, insisting the SVLK requirement made it difficult for producers to export their furniture products overseas.</p><p>"Two months ago, we were already happy because the SVLK had been cancelled at the downstream level [exporters]," he <a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20200513145438-4-158200/pak-jokowi-aturan-legalitas-kayu-bikin-pengusaha-mebel-marah" target="_blank">said</a>. "Now it is resurrected. It's not that we don't agree with the SVLK. HIMKI doesn't agree if the SVLK is implemented at the downstream level."</p>
<p>This argument was echoed by Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during a government meeting on May 22. He <a href="https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1345507/alasan-menteri-luhut-sebut-svlk-atau-legalisasi-kayu-penting/full&view=ok" target="_blank">suggested</a> that the SVLK requirement should only be made mandatory at the logging stage, but not at the downstream level.</p><p>To address the concerns over the high cost of SVLK certification, the environment ministry will issue a regulation containing several changes to the system. Under the regulation, it'll be the government who verify SVLK certification, not third-party agencies, according to Bambang Hendroyono, the secretary-general of the environment ministry.</p><p>"So in the [planned] ministerial regulation, we will make sure that small-and-medium businesses no longer have problems for export, especially to China and Korea," he said.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/indonesia-svlk-legal-timber-license-eu-vlegal-export/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less