The Bellevue College Office of Sustainability stands with all Black, Indigenous, and People of Color against systemic oppression and racism.
Additionally, we recognize the disproportionate impact that climate change has on people and communities of color, and the linkages between environmental and racial justice. In the words of Mattias Lehman, the digital director for the Sunrise movement who lives in the Twin Cities: “The climate movement is too white, too middle-class, and often more concerned with trees and polar bears than with the human destruction climate change wreaks disproportionately upon Black and Brown communities around the world. We see the climate crisis unfold at the border every day, as immigrants from countries driven into famine and drought by climate change come here, seeking a better life, and instead are locked in cages. And we see far too many climate movements remain silently complicit in white supremacy. This has to change.”
Climate justice aims to improve the living conditions of all marginalized groups, who have contributed the least to causing these conditions yet suffer the most. While we work on climate justice, it is imperative that we raise our voices and act to support social justice issues. Please join us.
To continually educate ourselves about the white-washing of the climate justice movement, be better allies, and learn about ways to make real change, here are some resources.
For understanding the intersections between climate justice and racial justice:
- 350PDX: https://350pdx.org/climate-justice/environmental-justice-resources/
- Podcasts: Heated (https://heated.world/podcast) and Hot Take (https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/range/hot-take-4)
- Marie Annaïse Heglar’s on Medium: https://medium.com/@maryheglar
- Climate and racial justice activist and academic Sarra Tekola’s keynote from BC’s College Issues Day, October 2019: https://vimeo.com/368796072
- Grist’s sections on justice (https://grist.org/justice/) and climate (https://grist.org/climate-energy/) provide weekly stories with a lot of overlap between these issues and others, for example: https://grist.org/fix/combatting-climate-change-covid-19-and-systemic-injustice-on-the-same-front/
- NY Times Climate Change and Social Inequity Recommended Reading list: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/05/climate/racism-climate-change-reading-list.html
Local organizations working at the intersection between climate justice and racial justice:
- 350 Eastside (http://350eastside.org/) and 350 Seattle (https://350seattle.org/)
- Got Green Seattle (https://gotgreenseattle.org/)
- Sunrise Movement (https://www.sunrisemovement.org/)
Curriculum and benefits of teaching within the context of climate justice for students:
- Zinn Education Project: https://www.zinnedproject.org/campaigns/teach-climate-justice
- Rethinking Schools: https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/our-house-is-on-fire-time-to-teach-climate-justice
- The Equity Ethic: https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/10/19/its-not-just-about-the-money-say-stem-students-of-color/
We need their help and Black communities need us:
Last Updated June 11, 2020