As climate activists we recognize that environmental destruction and racism share many root causes, and we recognize that each of us has a part to play in the long-term effort towards true racial justice.
We mourn the unconscionable killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and so many other beautiful black lives taken by racism and police violence. We stand with those who seek justice and systemic change for a future in which Black lives are respected throughout our society, and in which Black communities have the resources they need for health, safety, and success. Supporting Black-led organizations and environmental and social justice campaigns is key.
We stand in opposition to racist devaluation of life, and recognize that underneath the tip of the iceberg of today’s police brutality lie hundreds of years of stolen lives, land, resources, and the pollution of the land, air and water in frontline communities. We recognize these violent acts have been and are the result of systemic racism that allows for the prioritization of profit and power over lives and nature.
We realize that this is not a distant or abstract problem; racist police brutality and environmental injustice occur right here in San Francisco. As climate activists, our vision is a healthy, livable world for everyone. We cannot close our eyes to systemic racism and expect to succeed.
We can start by learning and supporting.
If you haven’t yet, we encourage reading the principles of the Movement for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter, and about the SFPD-specific justice work done by Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community. “The Anti-Racist Reading List” by Ibram X. Kendi recommends “38 books for those open to changing themselves, and their world.” We encourage reflection on how health disparities and environmental injustices compound each other, and how, in the words of Mary Anaise Heglar, “Climate change is not the Great Equalizer. It is the Great Multiplier.”
Accordingly, we strive to work for true equity in San Francisco climate legislation, and support frontline communities as they seek justice.
---
Acknowledgments: Our statement is inspired by the work and statements of the Climate Reality Project, Mothers Out Front, and Climate Health Now, as well as by the words of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Hop Hopkins, and Tamara Toles O’Laughlin.
We mourn the unconscionable killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and so many other beautiful black lives taken by racism and police violence. We stand with those who seek justice and systemic change for a future in which Black lives are respected throughout our society, and in which Black communities have the resources they need for health, safety, and success. Supporting Black-led organizations and environmental and social justice campaigns is key.
We stand in opposition to racist devaluation of life, and recognize that underneath the tip of the iceberg of today’s police brutality lie hundreds of years of stolen lives, land, resources, and the pollution of the land, air and water in frontline communities. We recognize these violent acts have been and are the result of systemic racism that allows for the prioritization of profit and power over lives and nature.
We realize that this is not a distant or abstract problem; racist police brutality and environmental injustice occur right here in San Francisco. As climate activists, our vision is a healthy, livable world for everyone. We cannot close our eyes to systemic racism and expect to succeed.
We can start by learning and supporting.
If you haven’t yet, we encourage reading the principles of the Movement for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter, and about the SFPD-specific justice work done by Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community. “The Anti-Racist Reading List” by Ibram X. Kendi recommends “38 books for those open to changing themselves, and their world.” We encourage reflection on how health disparities and environmental injustices compound each other, and how, in the words of Mary Anaise Heglar, “Climate change is not the Great Equalizer. It is the Great Multiplier.”
Accordingly, we strive to work for true equity in San Francisco climate legislation, and support frontline communities as they seek justice.
---
Acknowledgments: Our statement is inspired by the work and statements of the Climate Reality Project, Mothers Out Front, and Climate Health Now, as well as by the words of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Hop Hopkins, and Tamara Toles O’Laughlin.
