Dear Supporter,
As we bear witness to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Manuel Ellis, Charleena Lyles, and countless others at the hands of the police, many in our community have been wondering how this intersects with the environmental movement. They are interconnected. The intertwined roots of climate justice and racial justice are embedded in the very fabric of our society and history.
For this reason, we are devoting this newsletter edition to the intersection of racial equity and the environment. We’ve included a few personal reflections from our local staff and volunteers that include perspectives different from what you might normally associate with Sierra Club. I hope reading these pieces challenges and inspires you, in the way that many of us have been challenged to learn and grow in the past month.
We are committed to approaching our work from an anti-racist lens and building a green, equitable Washington state for us all to thrive. We’re grateful for your partnership in this important work.
Thanks for all that you do,
Jesse Piedfort
Chapter Director
Washington State Sierra Club
P.S. We would love to hear your thoughts on this issue, please consider filling out the quick, 3 minute survey at the end of the newsletter to be entered to win 5 books from our Anti-racist reading list. |
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During the street protests and marches of the past two weeks, many people carried signs that read “Racism Is Killing Us.” It’s no exaggeration to say that racism and white supremacy harm all of us, because in addition to robbing us of our humanity, racism is also killing the planet we all share.
By Hop Hopkins, Director of Strategic Partnerships • 2962 words / 15 min
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In recent months, we have seen the nation rise up in support of Black Lives Matter. With each new protest, we have seen both waves of support and criticism, and amongst those comments have been white people expressing doubts about the movements’ tactics. Let's talk about our role in this movement:
By Victoria Leistman, Dirty Fuels Organizer • 910 words / 7 min
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As an environmental organization, it may seem strange for us to be taking a stance on policing issues. But at the heart of all of these issues is one core drive and mission -- to create a world that is safe and healthy for every living being. To realize this mission is simply impossible without ensuring the safety of Black lives, and ensuring the safety of Black lives requires ending violent, racist policing and replacing it with a positive system of community care and support. Here's why defunding the police is an environmental issue:
By Brittney Bush Bollay, Seattle Group Chair • 766 words / 6 min
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This May, Sierra Club marked a significant milestone - 128 years of advocacy. This latest anniversary had me wondering: How do we as change-makers, respond to the need for changing our work? I had a conversation with a longtime volunteer, Dick Fiddler, about the need for Sierra Club to adapt our work to recognize the inseparable nature of environmental, social, economic, and equity issues. Learn about how we've remained dynamic and responsive for more than a century:
By Alex Craven, Our Wild America Organizer • 1371 words / 10 min
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People typically accept things as they are. When we see a road, a home, or a park, we don’t stop and wonder why they’re there. But looking deeper, nearly everything around us has been set up by planners, politicians, or policies. The key to understanding our cities is to know who put structures there for whom and why:
By Kelsey Hamlin, Volunteer Outreach and Development Coordinator • 742 words / 6 min
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When I first heard of the concept of reparations as a high school student, I used my immigrant status to avoid taking any responsibility for the racial inequalities that exist in the US. But, as I grew into my late 20s, I started to become painfully aware of my privilege. I have since come to understand why it's important for me, and all other white folks, regardless of family history or ancestry, to give reparations. Here's what I learned:
By Sept Gernez, Washington State Chapter Organizer • 1086 words / 8 min
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Utilities all across the state are currently prohibited from shutting off service for non-payment, but those protections are scheduled to end on July 28th. If Governor Jay Inslee doesn't intervene, thousands of Washingtonians could be left unable to afford their electric, internet, and water bills. As the pandemic continues to unfold, here is what you can do to help today:
By Julia Mason, Beyond Coal Campaign Volunteer • 599 words / 4 min
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Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County
Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County is a grassroots, volunteer-run, social-justice nonprofit organization focused on the empowerment and liberation of Blacks and other people of color through advocacy and direct action.
BLM Seattle centers leadership on Black femmes, women, queer, and trans people organizing and taking direct action to dismantle anti-black systems and policies of oppression. |
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The Northwest Community Bail Fund
The Northwest Community Bail Fund (NCBF) works to ensure that people accused of low-level crimes have an equal opportunity to defend themselves from a position of freedom.
They provide cash bail for people who are unable to pay due to poverty and who are charged with crimes in King and Snohomish Counties and have no other holds. They also provide support to navigate the legal process with the aim of reducing pre-trial incarceration and its consequences, reducing the pressure to plead guilty. |
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| Equity Evergreen Survey
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Thank you in advance for helping to improve our communications. We would love to hear your thoughts or feedback on how we can improve your experience with the Sierra Club!
GIVEAWAY INFO: The giveaway will end on July 31, 2020 at 11:59p PST. By taking this survey, you will be entered into a giveaway to set of five Anti-Racist Books.
1. So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo
2. The Next American Revolution, Grace Lee Boggs
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein
5. White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
One winner will be drawn at random from the list of survey participants and will be contacted directly via email on August 7, 2020 at 10a PST. (One entry per person.) Thank you for participating! |
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It took the mainstream climate movement a long time to come around to the idea that racial justice is climate justice. For New York Communities for Change (NYCC), connecting the dots between racial injustice and the climate crisis isn’t just a question of principle—it’s a daily reality.
If the mainstream climate movement wants to center racial justice in its work—and win in the process—it could learn a lot from NYCC and Patrick Houston, NYCC’s Climate and Inequality Campaigns Organizer. |
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Our Reading List:
Yeampierre sees the fights against climate change and racial injustice as deeply intertwined, noting that the transition to a low-carbon future is connected to “workers’ rights, land use, [and] how people are treated,” and she criticizes the mainstream environmental movement, which she says was “built by people who cared about conservation, who cared about wildlife, who cared about trees and open space… but didn’t care about black people.”
For many, the idea of abolishing the police is a foreign concept, even a frightening one. Largely, this is due to unfamiliarity with the decades of scholarship and actions on the topic. So, if you're wondering what abolishing the police means, or just need a refresher, here's what you need to know.
The future of our planet demands that we recognize inequity and defend our communities against compound injustice. In this moment of grief, we are reminded that the system is not broken, but rather operating as designed — which begs the questions: Are you willing to hold accountable all of the systems built off white supremacy — from the fossil fuel industry to racist policing to the prison industrial complex — in defense of the planet? Are you willing to interrogate your complicity in the systems built on white supremacy and commit to dismantling it?
Latino and African-American residents of the United States have been three times as likely to become infected as their white neighbors, according to the new data, which provides detailed characteristics of 640,000 infections detected in nearly 1,000 U.S. counties. And Black and Latino people have been nearly twice as likely to die from the virus as white people, the data shows.
Heated: The climate movement's silence
Climate Chads are self-identified environmentalists who say they care about pervasive racial inequality and police brutality, but don’t believe these issues are related to the climate fight. Or if they do, they believe focusing on racial equality “undercuts” the fight, and limits the climate movement’s ability to achieve broad support.
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| As people across the country protest in defense of Black lives, the Sierra Club recognizes the need to dismantle systemic racism in the United States and within our own organization. We must reckon with how white supremacy -- both past and present -- has shaped our institutions and do the critical anti-racism work necessary to repair the harm done. The environmental movement does not exist in a vacuum, and it is our responsibility to use our power to help abolish systemic racism, which is destroying lives, communities, and the planet. |
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