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Here at Idaho Sierra Club, we are devastated and outraged at the police violence that continues to terrorize Black people in this country, watching the list of those needlessly killed at the hands of police grow longer and longer each day. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade—all no longer with us because the color of their skin put a target on their backs.
At the same time, we are inspired by the historic Black-led, multiracial uprising for racial justice that’s swept the nation and the world during the past couple weeks in the wake of these killings, including powerful protests and vigils throughout Idaho. We’re finding strength and hope in the changes we’re already seeing as a result of the protests, from finally charging all four officers involved in murder of George Floyd, to the L.A. Mayor announcing massive cuts to the LAPD budget, to just yesterday Minneapolis City Council committing to dismantle their police department and invest in programs that are actually proven to protect and support community members.
But we know that so much more needs to be done. And we know that all of us have a role to play in bringing about that change, particularly as a movement fighting for climate justice. As Sierra Club’s Hop Hopkins points out in “Racism is Killing the Planet”, climate change persists because Black lives don’t matter as they should in our society. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities have always been on the frontlines of climate impacts and fossil fuel pollution, and until we tackle systemic racism they will always serve as the “sacrifice zones” that allow our extractive economy to keep churning, to keep delaying climate action as Black people disproportionately suffer and die.
When we advance racial justice, we advance climate justice, as BIPOC communities have been saying and doing for decades. We are proud that the Sierra Club helped lead the effort to endorse the Movement for Black Lives’ demands with over 250 environmental organizations last week and has been consistently working to center BIPOC voices in its environmental work, including launching an Equitable & Just National Climate Platform with BIPOC-led groups last year. These and many other steps mark huge progress for the environmental movement, but, as noted in “Black Environmentalists Talk About Climate & Anti-Racism,” the follow-through is what matters most.
At Idaho Sierra Club, we have so many opportunities to step up our role as anti-racist environmental allies to address racism and support racial justice organizing in Idaho. As an overwhelmingly white organization, with white leadership and staff, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves about how white supremacy shows up in our lives and in our organization, to take decisive steps to build a more inclusive chapter, and to leverage our privilege and resources to actively stand in solidarity with those BIPOC communities in our state who are facing daily threats from police violence and the climate crisis. This work doesn’t dilute our environmental goals, but rather strengthens them, and builds a bigger, broader movement to effectively tackle the intersecting crises that all cannot wait.
Today, let's commit to embark on that journey together. Here are some first steps we invite you to take with us:
- Join the Idaho Sierra Book Club to read “Me & White Supremacy” together and begin discussing how we can make individual and institutional changes to be more actively anti-racist
- Attend online “A Conversation for White People: Reconnect to Our Spirit & Our Humanity to Interrupt White Supremacy” this Wed, June 10, 2-4pm MDT
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Donate to Black-led organizing efforts in Idaho (select “Black Community Organizing”) and/or Venmo local Black community organizer Tanisha Jea Newton (@TanishaNewton)
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Support Black-owned businesses in Boise or in your area
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Follow local Black-led groups on social media
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Read/watch other anti-racist resources and share with your friends and family, including The Climate Crisis Is Racist. The Answer Is Anti-Racism.
We cannot be still and silent in this moment. Join us in taking personal and collective action to ensure that our Black family, friends, and neighbors can breathe in our communities, find joy and peace in Idaho’s great outdoors, lead the movement for climate and community resilience in Idaho, and capture the greatest benefits from our state’s transition to a 100% clean energy economy for all.
Idaho Sierra Club Staff
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