THE FLOWERS ARE BURNING
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Race and Climate Justice

"Racism is a heart disease, and it's curable."

-Ruth King, author,  "Mindful of Race, Transforming Racism from the Inside Out"


"First, if you’re a person of color, particularly Black or Latino, you’re more likely to live near toxic facilities, like petrochemical companies here in Louisiana, producing toxins that shorten and impact quality of life. And then, [our communities] are on the front line of impacts from climate change, living in places where there could be more floods and a higher incidence of different [climate-related] diseases. For poor communities, there’s also not having access to health insurance or medical services. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by all of these things.”

 
— Dr. Beverly Wright, CEO of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University



JUNE 2020:
As our world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed so many across the globe, another pandemic has been exposed: Institutional racism caused by white supremacy. The murder of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis, MN has caused an uprising around the world, as people protest the injustice that is at the very heart of society. As white women that have created The Flowers Are Burning, we want to express our commitment to anti-racism and to bring awareness to the ways racial injustice disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, People of Color and low income communities. We want to bring awareness to the intersection of climate change and race...as well as providing resources for white people to learn about how to become anti-racist allies to communities of color.

"As historically white-led environmental organizations that still hold structural power today, WEC and WCV are committed to dismantling systemic racism and advancing racial equity and environmental justice in all we do. We work with the understanding that the same beliefs, practices, and systems that create and perpetuate interpersonal and institutional racism, also create and perpetuate environmental destruction. Solving one cannot be done without solving the other. There is no environmental justice without racial justice and economic justice. Until we do this, we cannot fully achieve our mission."

-​Washington Environmental Council  & Washington Conservation Voters Racial Justice Mission Statement



"We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood - it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words 'Too late.' "

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


In the U.S. Climate change disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color. The effects of climate change, such as extreme weather conditions, have devastating consequences for communities of color and low-income communities. These extreme weather events can displace  esidents and even cause death. In the aftermath of such disasters, efforts of city officials to rebuild communities of color and low-income communities are often  inadequate compared to efforts to rebuild higher-income and white communities.
​

“These same exploits that are causing climate change on a massive scale … are causing very immediate health problems in areas inhabited by black and brown people, You can’t afford to not care about it when you’re part of these marginalized communities.”

~Corina Newsome, a wildlife conservationist and climate activist, Georgia Southern University



"Racial justice is climate justice. That means police reform is climate policy."

~Emily Atkin, environmental writer
​

"The disbelievers do not believe that either climate change or racism is real. Or they do not believe they are caused by emissions of greenhouse gases or racist policies. Or they do not believe that regulating them would be better for society. All this disbelief rests on the same foundation: the transformation of science into belief. It is a foundation built from the economic, political, and ideological blocks that stand the most to lose from the aggressive reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions and racial inequities."

-
Ibram X. Kendi, Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
​


​Resources on Environmental Justice, Racism, and Whiteness


350PDX ~ Environmental Justice & White Supremacy Resources, including:
  • ​Basic Info on Environmental Justice
  • Listen to & Uplift BIPOC Voices in Climate & Environmental Movements
  • More About White Supremacy and Racial Justice
  • Examples of Environmental Racism
  • White People’s Role in Environmental Justice & Dismantling White Supremacy

"Human Rights Expert Hopes Covid-19, Climate Change and Racial Injustice Are a 'Wake Up Call' "

NAACP: Environmental and Climate Justice

Why Racial Justice is Climate Justice: The worst disasters are never colorblind

The Quest for Environmental Justice and the Politics of Race and Place

Dumping in Dixie: Race Class and Environmental Quality

Racial Injustice: Why We Need to Act Now

Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism

8 Ways Environmental Organizations Can Support the Movement for Environmental Justice

Washington Environmental Council: Racial and Environmental Justice

For America to Livem Europe Must Die-Russll Means



​SUGGESTED VIDEOS:

Slavery to Mass Incarceration
“African Americans are six times more likely to be sent to prison for the same crime.”

Here’s Why We Should End the #AllLivesMatter Debate Once and For All
“It ignores the ways that people are devalued or killed based on their race.”

Trevor Noah

Kimberly Jones

​

Exploring Environmental Justice

Front & Centered | Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map
“The map offers policy leaders and advocates new, data-driven insights into where people experience the greatest environmental health risk factors in Washington.”

Communities of Color for Climate Justice
“It takes a big cultural shift on the way we relate to one another.”

​People of Color Are on the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis
While suffering disproportionately from the climate crisis, communities of color are also leading the way toward change that works for all.

What the Believers Are Denying
The denial of climate change and the denial of racism rest on the same foundation: an attack on observable reality.

What Do the Ferguson Movement, the Charleston Killings, and Oil Trains Have in Common?
“100% of the risk from oil trains was borne by lower income people of color.”

Conversations on Climate Justice with Rashad Barber
“We need communities to define for themselves what the real solutions are.”

“We are the Storm” Climate Change Portfolio
“Art has the power to move the climate conversation in a new direction.”

11 Young Climate Justice Activists You Need to Pay Attention To
They are Indigenous or people of color working for climate justice and they're all under 30.

We Must Treat Climate Change as a Racial Justice Issue
The climate is warming—and Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian American communities continue to bear an outsized share of the burden caused by global warming.

The Principles of Environmental Justice
“Environmental justice demands that public policy be based on mutual respect.”
Embracing the integral connections between environmental protection and racial justice makes us better positioned to achieve our mission and win on our issues. We feel fortunate to work with and learn from others who champion work in this intersection. Below are some resources that guide our personal and organizational commitments.

The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations
As the most comprehensive report on diversity in the environmental movement, this document provides perspective on the Green Ceiling, unconscious bias, and other issues around workplace diversity. A great way to understand the realities of the environmental movement in the 21st century.

What is Whiteness?
“Examining whiteness as a social construct offers more answers.”

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
“Whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege.”

Code Switch Podcast: Can We Talk About Whiteness?
“We mostly talk about it as a kind of empty space, defined by what it’s not.”

Understanding inequality and systemic racism

Why We’re Still Unwilling to Admit to Systemic Racism in America
“We cannot begin addressing this problem until we’re willing to admit this problem exists.”

SUGGESTED BOOKS:
The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution, Robert Bullard, Editor
Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out, Ruth King
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon for White America, Michael Eric Dyson
White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin J. Diangelo
How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do, Jennifer Eberhardt
Me and White Supremacy: A 28-Day Challenge to Combat Racism, Change the World,  Layla Saad
​Between the World and Me, ​Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Jim Crow  Michelle Alexander



CONTACT

Helen Klebesadel
helen@klebesadel.com
klebesadel.com


Mary Kay Neumann
marykay@mknart.com
mknart.com

© 2020 Helen R. Klebesadel & Mary Kay Neumann
  • HOME
  • The Exhibition & Gallery
    • Oceans A Rising Virtual Exhibition
    • The Flowers Are Burning Exhibition
  • What Needs Our Love
    • What is Climate Justice?
    • The Human Species >
      • Gender and Climate Change
      • Race and Climate Injustice
      • Trauma and Climate Change
      • Relational Neuroscience and Climate Change Art
    • Bats
    • Birds
    • Amphibians and Reptiles
    • Pollinators
    • Sea Stars >
      • Sea Star Wasting Disease
    • Our Oceans
    • Coral Reefs
  • Art/Science/Activism
    • Actions To Take
    • Other Artists and Projects
    • Art-Science Collaborative Opportunities
    • Citizen Science
    • Books, Journals, Readings
  • Community
    • Matters of the Heart
    • Grieving What is Lost
    • Spiritual Leaders on Climate Change
    • Organizations: Working together to help our Ecosystems
    • VOTE!
    • Audience Feedback
    • Our Appreciations
  • Contact
    • Arrange an Exhibition
    • Press >
      • New York Hall of Science Press
  • About