How Black Communities Pave the Way for Climate Justice
As a Black Lives Matter advocate, I highlight how environmental justice began in the community of Warren county, and the climate work of Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Maurice Mitchell in this extraordinary time of unrest and collective action.
Written by Abegail Caraulia
Young people wear signs that say “We care about our future! Don’t harm the lives of generations to come” and “We care too!! Warren county youth”. (Photo: Jerome Friar/UNC Libraries)
The Black Lives Matter movement has brought to light the many people that have died under unjust structures of power– the United States police force and our prison system complex. I take this moment to honor Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot and murdered during a traffic stop in Minneapolis on April 11, 2021. He was only 20 years old when he died.
The movement continues to pressure our government officials and police departments across the United States. In the midst of one of the most compelling, emotionally exhausting, and influential movements in United States history, it is important to recognize how the Black community in the United States has galvanized another movement: the fight for environmental and climate justice.
Since the environmental justice movement began with the Warren county protests against the implementation of a toxic waste landfill in 1982, environmentalism has evolved to include social justice and human rights issues.
Community action against a toxic waste facility in Afton with Reverend Ben Chavis. (Photo: Greg Gibson/AP Photo)
In 1982, the predominantly Black community of Afton held demonstrations after their county was chosen to be the site of a hazardous waste landfill. The waste contained chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are toxic to human health. This became the first historical event where people protesting against a waste facility were detained for civil disobedience. 500 individuals were arrested during the protests.
Although the construction of the landfill was not stopped, acknowledgement of national support for Warren county has left its environmental legacy. Black community protection and the fight for environmental justice continue to be intertwined today.
Climate justice is a term that has branched off from the umbrella term of environmental justice. Climate justice includes the fight for social justice issues pertaining to climate change effects specifically, like rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
Scientist and policy expert, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, in her co-hosted podcast “How to Save a Planet” expressed concern about her intersectional identity with being a Black woman, as well as a climate change activist. Dr. Johnson noted how she couldn’t concentrate on the climate crises while there is another crisis raging on with Black Lives Matter– the outcry for justice for the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many more.
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson at the NYC Climate Strike event in September 2019. (Photo: Ron Adar/Sipa USA, via Associated Press)
In the beginning of the episode titled “Black Lives Matter and Climate Change”, Dr. Johnson quoted author Toni Morrison who said “The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining over and over again your reason for being”. This quote highlights why climate justice will always be interwoven with Black Lives Matter. When the basic rights of Black people are violated and they are in fear for their lives every day, how can they focus on anything other than survival? While advocacy for climate justice is meaningful work, there also exists the urgent movement for the basic livelihood of Black people.
The intersectional parts of our identities contribute to our complex attachments and dedication to our work and the movements happening around us. A quote from Black Lives Matter activist and Working Families Party organizer Maurice Mitchell, who was a guest on this podcast episode is:
“The movement for Black Lives, by the way, is an immigrants’ rights movement. Why? Because people like my parents are Black immigrants. And it’s a Latino movement. Why? Because there’s Afro-Latino folks who are fighting for their Black lives. And it’s a climate movement because people like myself, Black folks on the gulf South, are experiencing the burden of climate calamity. It is a public health and COVID movement because we know Black people are 13% of the population and 33% of the people who are dying due to this pandemic… The movement for Black lives is actually a prism to look at all of our work.”
Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the Working Families Party. (Photo: Holly Pickett for The New York Times)
Black Lives Matter therefore becomes an immigrants’ rights movement, a Latina/o/e/x movement, a climate movement, and a public health movement altogether.
Being an environmental advocate does not absolve one’s racism. Learning and relearning to be anti-racist is inherently tied to the fight for environmental and climate justice because they include the protection and vitality of Black lives. Listening to Black voices and understanding the impact of environmental history is a forward step in the movement for climate action.