Statement in Support of Black Lives Matter Movement
In Our Nature stands in full support of the Black Lives Matter movement and mourns the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade and all others who have lost their lives due to police brutality, including and especially those whose names we do not know.
As writers with a platform, we recognize our responsibility to speak out against injustice, and as environmentalists, we pledge to continuously educate ourselves and our readers on the history of the environmental movement, which has too often left out the voices of people of color.
We also recognize that environmental issues disproportionately affect marginalized communities, including and especially Black communities. According to a study by the EPA, Black Americans’ health burdens from industrial air pollution are 54 percent higher than the overall population, and the death rates from asthma are a higher rate than people of any other race or ethnicity. Further, Black Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live near hazardous waste sites, have limited access to neighborhood green spaces and live in food deserts with limited access to fresh produce. These issues, along with all other racially motivated injustices, including police brutality, are things that environmentalists and journalists alike should not be silent about.
In Our Nature is committed to reporting on these environmental injustices. We pledge to find ways to support environmental justice organizations, be that financially, through giving them exposure with our platform, volunteering with our members, or other methods in the future. We further intend to make a continuous effort to amplify and cover the work of environmental activists of color.
We will not see the environmental change necessary without dismantling systems of oppression against communities of color, which allow environmental injustices and violence against these communities to persist.
We welcome any thoughts from our audience on how we can better our publication in regards to diversity, amplification of marginalized voices, environmental injustices, and more. Please reach out to inournaturemag@gmail.com with any thoughts, advice, suggestions, or questions.
Black lives matter.
Here are just a few organizations to support during this time and in the future:
“This fund is established to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist [the] family in the days to come as we continue to seek justice for George.”
“Reclaim the Block began in 2018 and organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.”
The Chicago Community Bond Fund
“The Chicago Community Bond Fund (CCBF) pays bond for people charged with crimes in Cook County, Illinois.”
“Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.”
“The National Bail Out collective is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration.”
“The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system.”
The Southeast Environmental Task Force
“Our mission is to inform and educate all members of the southeast Chicagoland community, including residents, businesses, and leaders, in areas related to the improvement of our neighborhood’s environment. We strive for sustainable development of residential facilities, environmentally friendly and green business practices, and preservation of natural areas that improve the quality of life in the Calumet region.”
Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment
“The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment is a national environmental justice organization providing legal, organizing, and technical assistance to grassroots groups in low-income communities and communities of color.”
Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC)
“The National Environmental Professionals of Color Network is a growing community of leaders of color across the USA at work on a vast array of critical environmental issues, from habitat conservation to environmental justice to upstream public health. At a time when there are over 100 million people of color living in the U.S.—a number that is projected to more than double by 2050—EPOC is working to build coalitions that address the diversity crisis at the heart of the environmental movement.”