Amanda Shepherd, Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Director
Are you confused about why environmental organizations are getting involved in the fight for racial justice? Are you concerned that we are getting off message or not “staying in our lane”? Do you worry that when we support efforts such as redistributing criminal justice funding among communities or standing alongside the Movement for Black Lives we are losing focus? Then please read on, fellow environmentalists, as we explore how the work for social justice is all tied up in our work toward a more sustainable world….
Image from the Interaction Institute for Social Change. Artist: Angus Maguire.
I've done quite a bit of personal reflection and self-analysis over the past several years. As a white woman from a middle-class family, I recognize my privilege. I do not worry about the safety of my daughters should they have an encounter with the police. I do not worry about them being targeted for the color of their skin. What I do worry about is my own "white guilt" and the tendency of us white folk to take over spaces and conversations as a result of that guilt – and, even worse, not really contributing much when we are present. I have worried about the lack of time I have to really hone in on this issue as I have used my privilege to fight for environmental issues.
I worry that there is SO MUCH work to be done on racial issues in this world we live in. And I have pledged to do more as a white woman and an ally – to go beyond sharing articles on Facebook and Twitter. To have tough conversations with my white friends and families. To help make space for POC to tell their own stories and to do the work that they feel needs done. To not, however, rely on them to do the work that needs done among allies and our white siblings. To do my own work in assessing my privilege and utilizing it to help begin deconstructing a system that places white lives above all others.
But I also worry about our planet and – more specifically – the future of ALL people. For the fate of our society should we continue down this path of pillaging the Earth for the preserved remains of once-living beings and burning them for our own gain. I have been struggling with how to continue this fight – the one I have been engaged in for so long – while also making more space in my life to engage in the battle for social justice.
In this time of reflection, I have been reminded that DAPL, KXL, and the majority of the fossil fuel infrastructure in this country is built almost exclusively on the land/backs of Native and other communities of POC. Environmental and social injustice can be - and often are - one and the same. These communities - along with allies - are still fighting the #NoDAPL & the #StopLine3 battles because they are socially and environmentally unjust. Coal-fired power plants, factories that produce – or use – toxic chemicals, industrial farming facilities that generate unspeakable amounts of animal waste – all of these tend to be placed in areas where those who live nearby do not have the means to fight against them; these are almost always minority communities and/or those of low socio-economic status.
While Black and Brown bodies are being overly policed, corporate polluters are being given back room deals and licenses to pollute the communities that are already underserved and heavily impacted. This is what we mean when we talk about environmental racism. It’s no longer sufficient to call these “environmental justice” issues. These are racist policies put in place by a system that favors white bodies over those of color. It’s been happening for years and it will continue to happen until people like me - white, able-bodied, middle class, cisgender, privileged - ignite the fire in our bellies to speak out and alongside those who have been shouting for help for centuries.
I realize that the time I spend battling for environmental causes – including the climate crisis – is also time spent fighting for my fellow people of all backgrounds.
BUT. There is more I can do. There is more we all can do. There has to be. Because in order for the climate crisis to be resolved, people of all races and backgrounds have to believe that they are safe in doing this work. We cannot expect our Black or Indigenous or Latinx siblings to put in the work on climate when they have to worry about racists threatening them or their families. Many of them are already engaged in the struggle to #ActOnClimate – but we cannot demand their participation. We must work to ensure a society that is safe and inclusive for all people; otherwise what are we fighting to protect?
This war – because this is indeed a war for our society and the Earth that we know and love – must be fought on two fronts. One for our physical world. And one for our society. Most of the battles will overlap. But even when they don’t, we must recognize that we do this work for the betterment of all. For the survival of all.
This is why the Sierra Club stepped up nationally last year in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives and why we are expanding our work with indigenous communities across the country. And this is why we at the Hoosier Chapter will be speaking out and showing up more in these fights. So we rise up and say #BlackLivesMatter. We rise up and say #HonorTheTreaties. We rise for these fights - and more - because to ignore the larger plight of those who suffer the most is the antithesis of climate justice.
“You can’t have climate change without sacrifice zones, and you can’t have sacrifice zones without disposable people, and you can't have disposable people without racism.” - Hop Hopkins