What we’re Reading on Racial Justice and the Environment

The global mobilization for Black lives and racial justice that we are experiencing today brings us to take a close look at how our disciplines have been perpetuating white supremacy and racism. We are challenged to take every action possible to dismantle these mechanisms, and to ensure that the work we do deliberately and simultaneously serves social justice, climate justice, and environmental sustainability.

Below is a compilation of articles that connect the dots between the movement for environmental sustainability and climate action, with the fight for racial justice and equality.

These stories remind us about the racist roots of the environmental movement, the missed opportunities to become truly inclusive, and most importantly the absolute and urgent necessity to rally behind Black voices and to fight for the interest of communities of color.

Read on…

• June 22, 2020 – Climate Justice is Racial Justice, Racial Justice is Climate Justice – Shondaland
• June 18, 2020 – The Inseparable Link Between Climate Change And Racial Justice – NPR
• June 16, 2020 – Black environmentalists are organizing to save the planet from injustice – Grist
• June 16, 2020 – Earth scientists #ShutDownSTEM — and reckon with racism in their departments – Grist
• June 15, 2020 – Opinion: If you care about the planet, you must dismantle white supremacy – Grist
• June 11, 2020 – It’s Time for Environmental Studies to Own Up to Erasing Black People – Vice
• June 11, 2020 – No, climate action can’t be separated from social justice – The Guardian
• June 10, 2020 – The joys and challenges of exploring nature while black – Grist
• June 10, 2020 – Q&A: A Human Rights Expert Hopes Covid-19, Climate Change and Racial Injustice Are a ‘Wake-Up Call’ – Inside Climate News
• June 8, 2020 – Why Every Environmentalist Should Be Anti-Racist – Vogue
• June 8, 2020 – Racism Is Killing the Planet – Sierra Club
• June 4, 2020 – No One Can Do Everything, But Everyone MUST Do Something: Solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives – PLAN
• June 3, 2020 – Black Environmentalists Talk About Climate and Anti-Racism – New York Times, Climate FWD
• June 3, 2020 – I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet – Washington Post
• June 2, 2020 – Responding to protests, green groups reckon with a racist past – Grist
• June 1, 2020 – The Climate Movement’s Silence – Heated
• May 29, 2020 – The Climate Justice Movement Must Oppose White Supremacy Everywhere — By Supporting M4BL (Sunrise Movement)
• May 26, 2020 – The Toxic Intersection of Racism and Public Space – City Lab