Black History Month and the Environmental Justice Movement

Happy Black History Month, climate family! Black History Month is coming to a close, and I’m still fired up to talk about the incredible impact Black leaders have had on the environmental justice movement. Let’s dive into this crucial intersection of racial justice and climate action! 

Black History Month is a time for reflection, remembrance, and celebration of the incredible contributions that Black people and communities have made to shaping our world. It’s also a time to critically engage with the struggles that continue to impact Black people, especially as they intersect with issues of environmental justice and climate change.

Environmental justice is not just about protecting the land; it’s about protecting people. Communities of color—especially Black communities—have long been on the frontlines of environmental harm. From toxic waste sites to polluted air and water, environmental burdens are disproportionately placed on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. This is the ugly truth of environmental racism, and it’s something we cannot ignore.

But here’s the thing: the fight for environmental justice is also a fight for liberation. It’s a fight against systemic oppression that harms the planet and its people. The negative impacts of climate change are often most acutely felt at the local level—where marginalized communities live, work, and fight for survival. That’s why we need to recognize the contributions of Black leaders in local climate justice movements and take action to support them.

The Roots of Environmental Justice

The environmental justice movement is deeply rooted in Black American history. It all kicked off in 1982 when the brave residents of Warren County, North Carolina, stood up against a toxic waste dump in their predominantly Black community. North Carolina had chosen to build a landfill for toxic waste in a community already facing economic challenges. The decision to place the dump there was approved despite the fact that the area had no history of industrial activity and was largely residential, with many families relying on farming and agriculture. This was not an isolated case but part of a larger pattern of environmental hazards being disproportionately placed in low-income, Black neighborhoods across the U.S.

NC Highways Historical Marker for PCB landfill protests in Afton, North Carolina

The people of Warren County, led by local activists, such as Dr. Robert Bullard and Ben Chavis, refused to passively accept this decision. They organized protests, rallies, and demonstrations to resist the construction of the toxic waste site. For weeks, starting in September 1982, activists, community leaders, and residents engaged in acts of civil disobedience, including blocking trucks from delivering toxic waste to the site. Protesters were arrested, and many were subjected to police brutality, but their efforts drew national attention to the broader issue of environmental racism.

The Warren County protests highlighted how communities of color bear the brunt of our country’s pollution, and this fight signaled that marginalized communities would no longer silently endure this exploitation. Although the landfill was ultimately built in Warren County, the protests sparked a national movement that led to critical developments in environmental policy and advocacy. In 1987, the landmark report by the United Church of Christ’s Commission for Racial Justice highlighted the disproportionate number of hazardous wastes sites in Black and low-income communities. 

But the fight didn’t start or end there. Black communities have been battling environmental injustices for generations, from toxic dumping to air pollution. These struggles laid the groundwork for what we now call the environmental justice movement.

Environmental Justice and the Climate Crisis

The global climate crisis is here—and its impacts are catastrophic. From rising sea levels to extreme weather patterns, vulnerable communities are bearing the brunt of environmental destruction. However, the solution to this crisis lies in the same principles that have guided the fight for environmental justice for decades: respect for the land, equity, and the empowerment of frontline communities.

In the United States, Black communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation. Consider the history of environmental racism in places like Flint, Michigan, where lead-tainted water poisoned an entire city, or the continued struggles of communities living near industrial waste sites in places like Cancer Alley, Louisiana, where the risk of cancer is 95% higher than most of the country. The climate crisis amplifies these issues, making it clear that the environmental movement must center those who have been historically marginalized.

How You Can Help: Environmental Justice Organizations Serving Black Communities in the DMV Area

As we reflect on Black History Month, let’s also honor the environmental organizations serving Black communities and doing vital work on the ground. The following organizations are showing us that climate justice is about more than just reducing emissions – it’s about creating a fair and sustainable world for everyone. Support for these organizations is crucial, not just during Black History Month, but year-round. 

If you’re in the DC, Maryland, or Virginia area, there are powerful organizations that need your support:

  • Empower DC: Empower DC is elevating the cause of environmental justice to bring about improvements at the community and systemic levels. They are focused on DC neighborhoods most impacted by air quality issues.
  • WE ACT for Environmental Justice (DC Chapter): Through advocacy, planning, and research, WE ACT is able to mobilize low-income communities of color to make environmental change.
    Friends of Chesterfield for the 2025 Gas Plant Campaign Kick-Off  Thursday, Feb 27, at the Central Library.
  • Labor Network For Sustainability(LNS) DC: LNS hopes to create a ‘just transition’ for workers and communities negatively affected by climate change and by industry transitions to renewable energy.
  • Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice & Health (CEEJH) MD:  CEEJH works to INpower fenceline, frontline, and underserved communities to resist ongoing environmental, climate, energy, and health injustices so everyone can thrive in just, equitable, and sustainable futures.
  • CASA (Maryland & Virginia): CASA is a national powerhouse organization building power and improving the quality of life in working-class: Black, Latinx, Afro-descendent, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities.
  • Friends of Chesterfield: Friends of Chesterfield is a community-based group in Chesterfield County bringing residents together in opposition to Dominion Energy’s proposed gas-fired plant in an environmental justice community.
  • RVA Southside ReLeaf:  Southside Releaf is working to tackle environmental injustice through hands-on projects, education, and advocacy in the Richmond Metro area.
  • Virginia Interfaith Power & Light (VAIPL): VAIPL collaborates among people of faith and conscience to grow healthy communities by advancing climate and environmental justice.

These groups are fighting for cleaner air, safer neighborhoods, and a healthier planet. They are standing up against environmental injustices, advocating for policy changes, and empowering their communities to take action.

The Future Is Now

Black History Month is a time to reflect on how far we’ve come, but also to recognize how much work remains. The environmental justice movement reminds us that the fight for a healthy planet is inseparable from the fight for racial justice. In the words of the great environmentalist and activist Dr. Robert Bullard: “Environmental justice is a civil rights issue.” It’s time to honor the legacy of Black leaders who have been fighting for justice on all fronts and take action to support those leading the charge today.

Now, more than ever, the future of our planet—and our communities—depends on the power of collective action. Let’s ensure that Black voices and environmental justice communities are not only heard but supported in meaningful ways. Let’s commit to amplifying Black voices in the climate movement and working towards a just and sustainable future for all.

We support “Defund the Police.” Here’s why, and what’s next

We are at a crucial point in history for racial justice. There are no neutral actors here: Silence itself is a dangerous act. 

That’s why we at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network are raising our voices for a world where Black Lives Matter. Not just because Black and Latinx Americans care most on average about climate change. Not just because the climate fight would be nothing without a diverse movement. Not just because we need every community to join us in our fight for climate solutions for it to succeed. Not just because we need to be able to protest without entire populations fearing for their lives. 

But because the fight for a safe climate future is a fight to save lives. And millions of Americans are fighting for their lives right now.

At this critical moment, we are following the lead of Black-led organizations at the forefront of this struggle. We are signing on in support of the broad movement to reduce funding for police and reinvest in communities under the banner of “Defund the Police.”

On Tuesday night, CCAN Board of Directors voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to support this movement. Click HERE to see the resolution. 

In practical terms, here’s what that means for us at CCAN: 

  • We will support efforts spearheaded by Black-led organizations to pressure our legislators to meaningfully divest from police programs that directly or indirectly give rise to brutality, and invest in public services and other public safety measures that don’t involve police force or incarceration. This means weighing in on state and local budget hearings, and encouraging our supporters to do the same. More on that below. 
  • We pledge to not pay for police services at CCAN events — like protests and conferences — unless absolutely necessary. Often, police departments require activists to pay for police presence at public marches and rallies. Our refusal to pay such fees will force us to make sure we’re asking the right questions up front and will help us to choose venues and vendors that share our values. We expect to formalize this new policy in the coming weeks.
  • We will connect our supporters with anti-racism trainings and resources and maximize trainings for staff to ensure that racial justice is a centerpiece of our climate campaigns.
  • We will invest in voter education campaigns to help protect vulnerable communities from voter suppression efforts — and encourage all voters to support leaders who advocate for meaningfully divesting from police to better fund social programs instead. 

You may be wondering, what do we mean by “Defund the Police?” It doesn’t mean getting rid of all police overnight — or necessarily ever — and it won’t mean the same thing in every city, town, or locality. It means redistributing the hundreds of millions of dollars we spend on policing back into essential public services that have been gutted over the last few decades as police budgets ballooned. It means mental health professionals answering calls about mental health crises, and addiction experts answering calls about opioid abuse, instead of armed officers. It means tackling our social problems with tools that could help solve them rather than resorting to violence and criminalization, a system that was borne out of racism and has intentionally disrupted and devastated Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor communities since its inception centuries ago.

This effort draws parallels to the fossil fuel divestment campaign as well. We’re not proposing eliminating all forms of energy, just the dirty ones; we still need to keep the lights on and the internet flowing, now more than ever in the era of coronavirus. Similarly, we still need systems to keep our communities safe. We’re just opening our minds to what those systems look like. And we’re taking our cues from the groups, communities, and thought-leaders most impacted by the current broken system.

If you’re still skeptical, click HERE to watch a video with CCAN Board Members Terence Ellen and Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. discussing what “Defund the Police” means for CCAN and why it’s important for climate activists to support it.

Here at CCAN, we know that the fight for climate justice and racial justice are one in the same. People of color disproportionately bear the impacts of climate change, from extreme storms to flooding from sea level rise to heat waves to air pollution. It’s also no coincidence that fossil-fueled power plants and refineries are disproportionately located in black neighborhoods, leading to poor air quality and putting people at higher risk for coronavirus. The forces behind the climate crisis are the same forces behind racial inequality. As Eric Holthaus put it, climate change is “what happens when the lives of marginalised people and non-human species are viewed as expendable.” We have to work together for permanent and durable solutions that protect every single person of every single race — particularly the most vulnerable — now and in the future. 

That’s why we will continue to shine light on police brutality and work for solutions everywhere to this ongoing tragedy. And we ask you to do the same. Please do what you can to use your voice to demand justice. 

Here’s where to start:

The fight for justice becomes more crucial every day. We’re glad to be fighting with you. 

In solidarity, 

The entire team at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and CCAN Action Fund

Why Climate Activists Need to Be Anti-Racist Activists

Whose apocalypse do you care about?

I was originally supposed to write this blog post about why we need the climate movement to get huge, and discuss Harvard researcher Erica Chenoweth’s discoveries about how relatively small proportions of the population are needed to overthrow tyrannical governments. This is all still true and important; I highly suggest you watch her TED talk here.*

However, today I have something even more pressing to discuss. I want to talk about why all climate activists should become anti-racist activists. If you are a white activist and recent events have stirred you to start down the path of anti-racist practice, welcome, this post is for you. 

For those of you who are people of color: Our hearts are breaking for you. If you have a story about what’s going on you’d like to share, we’d love to amplify your voice. Simply email info@chesapeakeclimate.org and we’ll work with you on this. 

I’d like to first acknowledge that I benefit from white privilege and it’s important to put my words here in that context. That isn’t to say I haven’t experienced challenges, and I have other parts of myself that are not fully liberated in this country (notably, I’m a woman, queer and neurodivergent). Many of my family members have experienced poverty for generations and still continue to experience it today. But yet even with all of that being true, I still very much benefit from a history of white supremacy. And *all* of the challenges I face are made easier for having white skin. This is a foundational principle of intersectionality (a term coined by a black woman): no struggle is faced in a vacuum That is why we will never truly win on a single issue that is “good for everyone” without specifically addressing how racism undermines our movements. We’ve seen this time and time again throughout history, from black suffragists excluded from the women’s movement, to 53% of white women voting for Trump in 2016.

Francis Elen Watkins Harper, an intellectual and poet who spoke out about exclusionary practices in the women’s suffrage movement

Anti-racist practice is the constant examination of the way that race interplays with every aspect of life, and at every stage demanding differently. Scholar Ibram Kendi compares racism to the cancer he lives with; unexamined, it metastasizes through the whole body. The treatment is to remove tumors (racist policies) and medicate the entire system (commit to anti-racist education). 

How do we move forward from here?

So if you are white, how do you go about educating yourself and others about race?

Step one: Always trust black and brown people’s authority on this subject first.

Seriously, don’t just take my word for it. No matter how woke you get, or how much you are connected to black people in your personal life, if you are white you will not understand what it is to personally be subject to racism and wake up black every day (this poem by Candace Williams helped me to understand this emotionally). Black and brown people have been doing this work intergenerationally. Another analogy here – doing anti-racist work is like doing calculus in a burning building, where people of color are the experts and white people have not started learning basic addition. If you’re just coming into this understanding, there is a lot of learning and listening to do. This means frequently passing up the microphone, and committing deeply to self-work.

Now, important caveat here: You should absolutely read resources authored by people of color and listen when they are speaking, but do your best not to come with too many questions to individual people of color. A constant state of rehashing basic principles and convincing people of your humanity is exhausting. Research shows that this is the number one reason for burn out among anti-racist acitivists of color (more tips for avoiding this contained in the link).

This is one of many reasons step two is very important: White people need to talk to other white people about anti-racism.

To Kendi’s point, these ideas need to permeate the whole system. If you are a white person, you have access to white spaces and ears that black and brown people do not. Be that person and bring up this issue everywhere you go, from the policy table to the dinner table. As you progress on your journey, you will also learn how to speak to other white people at different levels of understanding (back to that calculus analogy – this is like forming a study group). You have the opportunity to leverage your relationships and position strategically. While big visible protests can be really important, we would not need them if we committed to doing this work full time. This is -really- hard. I’m certainly not an expert, but groups like Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) work on this effort constantly.

Whiteness in the climate movement

Now with all of that given, let’s talk for a moment about whiteness in the climate movement specifically. First, let’s establish that if you truly care about the principle of a stable climate, you should absolutely care about racial justice. Think of all the grief and post apocalyptic imagery that we understand so well in the climate movement. Do those images involve terror, conflict, lack of access to safe water and food? We have seen constantly in the news that many people in this country are already living that reality for being black. Native activists have also written about already living in a post-apocalyptic world. So the apocalypse is already here, it just might not have touched you yet. And climate change will absolutely make all of these problems worse for people already facing extreme living conditions. 

Meanwhile, the environmental movement has centered white voices and priorities for decades and is overwhelmingly white. A 2014 study conducted by environmental expert Dorceta Taylor examined the composition of environmental groups and found what we can see anecdotally; through and through white faces dominate at events and on staff. This research also examined some of the reason that might be the case, including a lack of funding dedicated to this cause and a lack of transparency about the state of diversity in our movement (here at CCAN we are working on understanding the composition of our own base; you can take a survey here). Not understanding this has significantly cost progress, and as we move into a “majority minority” composition in this country, we will suffer for it if we don’t quickly adapt. Even more disturbing is the fact that white supremacist groups have begun co-opting environmentalist messaging. Allowing this to sit unexamined will become a truly deadly cancer indeed. We need to make sure that at every turn we are denouncing racist practices, in our spheres of influence and especially in ourselves. This is why it is so important to listen to POC community leaders and incorporate their policy demands into our climate policy. 

We always have the opportunity to do differently. We can each decide to change our own mindset and start learning that calculus with urgency. In addition to the many resources I have linked throughout this post, I have also linked below a compilation of resources I have found helpful. The best time to start is now; the building truly is on fire. I would be happy to study with you. 

Resources

**(also, please note that while Chenoweth’s research shows that non-violent movements are ultimately easier to carry out and are often more effective in the long run, she does not condemn rioting when there are no other options left. Many black scholars, including Martin Luther King, have written about why rioting occurs and should be understood in context)

During coronavirus, Flint residents still do not have access to clean water. Photo by Karla Ann Cote/NurPhoto via Getty Images

STATEMENT: Governor Northam Fails to Protect Citizens of Union Hill

Community Leaders Accuse Dominion Energy of Blatant Environmental Racism Over Controversial Compressor Station for Fracked Gas

 
RICHMOND, VA — Today, the Northam administration removed two members of the Air Pollution Control Board from their posts before a crucial vote on the gigantic and deeply harmful Atlantic Coast Pipeline compressor station in Buckingham County, Virginia. These members were a part of a crucial bloc of votes which led to stronger environmental protections in recently the re-proposed Carbon Reduction Plan and they both showed concern about the permit for the Buckingham compressor station. The proposed 54,000-horsepower compressor station — situated a short distance from the homes of the descendants of freedmen in the community of Union Hill — would run 24 hours a day and constantly fill the community with loud noise that is comparable to a jet engine. Facilities like this pollute the air with nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter and are linked to severe respiratory and cardiovascular ailments, as well as cancer. This compressor station is needed to keep gas flowing through Dominion’s controversial $7-billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Since the day this project was announced, community advocates in Union Hill have sounded the alarm on environmental justice concerns. Scores of concerned citizens have rallied and protested across the state in opposition of these projects. Hundreds turned up in Buckingham County to give public comment against the project. Thousands more sent written comments to the DEQ which requested the agency deny the permits. Yet no matter how many Virginians said this was a bad idea, Dominion continued pushing for this location. The Union Hill community is a rural, low-income, mostly African-American community where residents are less likely to have the resources to pursue legal challenges.
Even though Mr. Bleicher and Mrs. Rubin both had terms that were set to expire in June, their roles would have extended indefinitely if the Northam administration had not taken action.
This decision comes just weeks after the world’s top scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a dire warning sounded the alarm bells for the world to move away from dangerous fossil fuels at a rapid pace.
Harrison Wallace, Virginia Director of CCAN, stated in response:

“We are shocked and incredibly disappointed that the Northam Administration is terminating the terms of Air Board members Rebecca Rubin and Sam Bleicher. This deeply controversial move comes just weeks before a crucial vote on the Buckingham Compressor Station for fracked gas. The people of Union Hill and Buckingham County deserve a fair hearing from the full board. This decision will rob them of that opportunity. Governor Northam has now officially taken ownership of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and ownership of this compressor station, a facility which involves strong elements of environmental racism. The governor must understand that with today’s action, the public will now hold him responsible for all the future harm to water, the climate, farmland, and human life that now could come to Virginia.”

Column on Mountaintop Removal

Cross-posted from: here

I have a column out today in the paper about the Obama Administration’s shameful approval of 42 mountaintop removal permits. I want to be sure to post it for you.

Mountaintop removal: No science, no ethics

MATT DERNOGA

The Environmental Protection Agency recently approved 42 of the 48 permit applications for mountaintop removal operations in West Virginia, deeming them environmentally responsible. A review of mountaintop removal would serve the EPA well.

Mountaintop removal is a way for the coal companies to avoid having to mine the mountain the traditional way. Instead, they use millions of tons of dynamite to blow up the mountain so they can easily extract the coal underneath. Dynamite is cheaper than coal miners; no jobs created here. The toxic waste from this process is then dumped into the nearby valleys and riverbeds below, which can ruin the entire ecosystem.

More disturbing is the effect on the communities that live in the area. Coal slurry is a toxic byproduct of the mining waste, with billions of gallons stored in dams around the mining sites. At mountaintop removal sites like those in the Appalachia in West Virginia, this can shatter the community in two ways.

There was an incident last December in Tennessee where a coal slurry dam between Nashville and Knoxville burst, causing 500 million gallons of sludge to flow into the tributaries of the Tennessee River, which is also the water supply for millions living in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. It was estimated to be 40 times larger than the infamous Exxon Valdez spill.

Living near a mountaintop removal operation and living near a coal slurry dam is like living in a war zone. Explosions are going off all the time. Ash and rock is raining down around communities. Machinery is clanging all day and night. The air and water is contaminated with toxic metals and chemicals, including arsenic, lead, selenium, boron, cadmium and cobalt. A friend of mine recently traveled to a West Virginia community to see the devastation and said residents have numbness in their extremities because what they are ingesting is so toxic.

In desperation, coalfield residents of West Virginia wrote a letter to the EPA and Department of Interior begging them to stop the madness. “You are our last hope for justice at this point,” they wrote.

The EPA responded to a different letter instead. They wrote back to a West Virginia Congressman who was determined to ensure the permits went through. The EPA letter said, “I understand the importance of coal mining in Appalachia for jobs, the economy and meeting the nation’s energy needs.” You know the rest.

The health hazards mentioned came to light as a result of the EPA’s own analysis and report on the impacts of living near coal ash and slurry ponds. Both President Barack Obama and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson have pledged to base decisions on science. Science has returned to the White House, we’re told. Exactly what kind of “science” are we talking about? This reminds me of my sixth grade “science” fair project that involved lots of burnt bread and no numbers.

Jackson, the EPA and Obama have made a mockery of science. They placed the coal industry above human decency. They let the people of Appalachia’s hopes slip right through their fingers. In so doing, they’ve undermined (no pun intended) the moral integrity of America and failed West Virginia, as well as the rest of the country.

Matt Dernoga is a senior government and politics major. He can be reached at mdernoga@umd.edu

Sources

On the 42/48 approved…

http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2009/05/15/rahall-epa-clears-42-of-48-permits-for-approval/

The EPA’s response to the Congressman

http://wvgazette.com/static/coal%20tattoo/epa2rahall.pdf

Link for the coal slurry disaster

http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/coal-slurry-dam-disaster/ (article link is in the first paragraph, butthere’s a lot of background info in the entire post).

The following two highlight the dangers of being near coalslurry ponds.

http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pub640.cfm

http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pubs/FINAL%20COMING%20CLEAN%20EJEIP%20Report%2020090507.pdf

Source for the letter..

http://www.grist.org/article/urgent-letter-to-epa-and-

Second Part of Diversity Column

This has been cross posted from: http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/second-part-of-diversity-column/

So last week, I wrote the first part in a 2 part series on the need for more diversity and inclusion in the environmental movement. My second part is this week. In case you haven’t read the first part or would like to re-read it, go here: http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/column-on-lack-of-minorities-in-environmental-groups/

For this weeks column, link is here: http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2009/02/17/Opinion/Green.Diversity.Cross.Cultures.Save.The.World-3632931.shtml?reffeature=recentlycommentedstoriestab

Green diversity : Cross cultures, save the world

Issue date: 2/17/09 Section: Opinion

I met with a black state delegate about a bill a few weeks ago and made sure to ask him what the environmental community was doing wrong in reaching out to minorities. In his response to me, he made a good point. It’s difficult to tell someone they need to put a solar panel on their roof or to get the roof insulated when they’re working hard just to keep that roof over their head. He also stated the situation was unfortunate, because minority groups are most affected by global warming, rising energy costs and pollution. They also stand the most to gain from a clean energy economy if they’re involved in creating it. How do we stress that linkage? He didn’t have an answer. I have ideas.
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