Why is racial justice a climate justice issue?
You may have heard the term eco-social justice, or phrases such as “racial justice is climate justice” and “there is no climate justice without racial justice.”But what exactly do people mean when they use this language? Climate change and environmental degradation are realities that we face as a global community. However, burdens of environmental impacts disproportionately affect communities of lower socio-economic levels.(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) said it best:
“Environmental and climate justice is a civil rights issue. We all depend on the physical environment and its bounty...But not all people are equally impacted. Race — even more than class — is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country hit by climate change.”
We can’t be sustainable as a society without addressing the systems that actively work against sustainability -the perpetuation of white supremacistvalues and systemic racism. In other words, BIPOC (Black, Indigeous and People of Color) communities have contributed the least to climate change yetthey suffer the most. At the same time, these grievances are rarely heard; BIPOC communities aren’t invited to have a say in the decisions made about this.
This is what environmental racism is:a form of systemic racism where communities of color are disproportionately disadvantaged due to policies, practices or directives that burden these communities by forcing them to live in proximity to environmental hazards/toxins or in degraded environments. That is why we cannot treat environmental injustice and racial injustice as separate issues.
Think of environmental justice as a three-legged stool. Each leg has one purpose: to keep the stool from becoming unbalanced. Written on one leg is economic vitality. Another is economic sustainability. The last leg has social justice. These three values are the main components of sustainability. If one of these values aren’t addressed and nurtured, the stool of environmental justice falls. Systemic racism is not sustainable because there is no environmental justice without social justice, more specifically racial justice.
On Saturday, Nov.13from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., the Environmental Center is hosting a CU Climate Justice Workshop with focus on leadership, action and community. This intensive training will explore your roles in climate justice, the historical context of the environmental justice movementand hear from experts and community leaders to better understand what climate justice looks like in our society. This workshop will be located at the Idea Forge in room FLEM33. To sign up and find out about other similar events happening this semester, check out the. By clicking on an event, the sign-up forums will be linked accordingly. We hope to see you there! For more information on the E-Center,stop by our home pageto explore the latest in sustainability within our programs, news and student involvement.