Radical Means Grabbing Something By the Root

June 16, 2020

Image by V&M Productions

Image by V&M Productions 

Note: this blog was written primarily by white and Latinx authors and received various edits from Black and Brown staff. All contributors declined being listed as authors.

In the last several weeks, people all across Texas have united to condemn the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, and Mike Ramos -- and the many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) lives before them who were taken by white supremacy and its primary modern tool of enforcement, police brutality.

White supremacy, and accompanying police brutality, are the building blocks of the US, woven into every aspect of the culture and social systems in our country since its inception. White supremacy, as a culture, was created and perfected (in terms of codifying into law, policy, and cultural practices) in the US, and the keystone of its foundation is anti-Blackness—that Black people are the lowest, and least human, of all races. The purpose of white supremacy is to protect and expand the political power and wealth of white people by controlling, maiming, and killing Black and Indigenous people, more so than any other race or ethnicity in the US throughout history. The centrality of anti-Blackness means that Black lives are the least valuable and first to be taken through the violence of white wealth and political power. 

The modern day manifestations of white supremacy ensure that there are “disproportionate impacts” targeting Black and Indigenous people first, from police brutality to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why when a Black person hears about someone dying at the hands of an officer, they immediately have to check in on their family. Now, even amidst this global pandemic that is decimating Black people in the US, people (especially Black people) are having to sacrifice their health and safety to join mass protests and demand the end of the routine and brutal attacks on Black people.

White supremacist culture allows white people to choose when they show solidarity and be selective about what they support, which does not yield positive change and instead reinforces racism in American culture. For decades, white people have marched, shared articles, and signed petitions— yet the U.S. still exercises police brutality with the same frequency and force. What white people have been doing to show “solidarity” has not been enough.

How are white people going to make this time different?

White people, including those in the environmental movement, have to commit to supporting radical change both within themselves and within our political systems in order to dismantle white supremacy and make Texas a state where Black communities can thrive. What is “radical” though?

Angela Davis, a trail-blazing Black activist, poet, and feminist, famously said, “‘Radical’ simply means ‘grabbing something by the root.’”

White supremacy has many roots, one of the largest being modern-day policing. White people have always and continue to rely on police to guard their communities, public spaces, and resources from Black people. As an organization, Sierra Club, especially its majority white employees, members, and supporters, must dedicate themselves to supporting Black-led efforts to end police brutality and to support Black communities. Our mission to defend the environment, from protecting wild lands to fighting climate change, is intrinsically dependent on the protection and empowerment of Black lives.

But police are only one (although terrifyingly powerful) agent of white supremacy. White complacency and silence from non-Black people is also an agent of white supremacy because inaction opens up and holds space for racism to exist.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said in his Letter to from Birmingham Jail, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is... the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice.”

Complacency is looking the other way when Black people are murdered, silenced, gaslighted, discriminated against or exploited, and harassed by individuals or institutions. Even if you aren’t directly or aggressively involved in racist acts towards Black people, “not being racist” is not enough to protect or empower Black communities (it never has been). White allies must be actively anti-racist. Simply “not being racist” equates to inaction. Inaction protects and expands racism.

What Is Anti-Racism?

Anti-racism is the life-long process of identifying racism+racist systems and actively working under the leadership of BIPOC to undo those power structures that subjugate BIPOC. Anti-racism analyzes the historical power and privilege imbalance of white people as a means to correct that imbalance against BIPOC.

How do non-Black people practice anti-racism while fighting for Black lives and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement? It begins with following Black leadership and listening to Black voices right now.

But anti-racism is beyond the pressing, in-the-moment actions. Petitions, donations, protests, and social media awareness are all very important. But what do we do when the protests stop, when the petitions stop circulating? The job - the obligation - of white people is not done. 

We must continuously read, watch, and listen to Black voices with the intent to learn how to recognize white privilege and manifestations of systemic racism, unlearn the habits and social practices built on that system and privilege, and act to dismantle it. As activist Andréa Ranae said, “Anti-racism isn’t a check-list of action items, it is a practice.” It is an empathetic practice that strengthens moral instincts and emboldens us to fight for Black and Indigenous people of color.

Source: @theConsciousKid on Instagram

The Sierra Club in Texas unequivocally condemns all forms of police brutality against Black people, and is committed to adopting anti-racism principals. 

Each of us in the Sierra Club have a role to play in dismantling white supremacy and systemic racism. We are committed to addressing and correcting the environmental movement's racist history and our own organization’s legacy and racist origins within that movement. The Sierra Club recognizes that environmentalism is a racial justice issue as BIPOC are disproportionately harmed by pollution and climate change yet contribute the least to environmental problems.

That’s why the Sierra Club is on this journey with Texas. Here is a non-exhaustive list of anti-racist resources, with articles, books, movies, podcasts, and more. 

Here are local and national actions you can do to help Black communities right now:

As an organization that is committed to justice-oriented work, Sierra Club must also continuously invoke the Jemez Principles and clarify that if we are not being explicitly anti-racist, we are violating these six principles. We must remember that it is not our place to tell an oppressed group of people how to advocate for themselves and how to organize for justice. 

We need to do serious work to build a better world from these protests and the COVID-19 crisis. That world should be founded on the values of equity and justice and we must be willing to follow Black community leaders to build that world. We must turn inwards and ask ourselves the tough questions: Why do our communities remain so segregated? Why are Black people four more times likely to die from COVID-19 than white people? Why are huge polluting industries located in Black and Brown communities? What have we done, or not done, to allow racism to flourish in this country? 

Being anti-racist must be an essential part of the environmental movement here in Texas. Racism is as much an existential threat as climate change, but at the same time, climate change cannot be solved without dismantling racism. We must accept this fact and fight to eradicate racism. We must fight just as hard for radical change in our society to achieve justice for Black people as we are for protecting the environment. Otherwise, our mission is null. 

We know that Black and Brown residents of Texas are subject to the brunt of environmental pollution. They are more likely to die from COVID-19 in part due to their chronic (and often generational) exposure to pollution and other toxins. They are harmed far more by the impacts of extreme climate events like flooding and hurricanes, and are less likely to receive the public investments to make their communities more resilient (or not at all for undocumented people). Sierra Club’s work to “protect the planet” must address this environmental racism as a fundamental part of our efforts. 

Everyone should have the right to a healthy planet with clean air and water -- and the right to live freely without the fear of racial violence and injustice. But for the entire history of the US some people have never truly had those rights.

This is the first of what will be many perspectives shared about anti-racism, environmental justice, and Sierra Club’s work in Texas. We intend to continue sharing more resources, training and learning tools, and amplify calls to action that come from BIPOC justice organizations, such as reducing police budgets and reinvesting in community-based services and support programs that have too long been underfunded. Our awareness and connection to these efforts has been limited, but we must be committed to achieving real transformational change.

 

Related content:

Anti-Racism
Black Lives Matter
Equity
Justice
Defund the Police