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Dear John,
The recent brutal murder in Minneapolis has forced all of us at the Chesapeake
Climate Action Network to confront the injustice that runs rampant throughout
our country. Our hearts and thoughts are with the families and communities of
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless others.
Lives have been senselessly taken, and that can’t be undone. But we can work to
shine a light on police brutality, and join justice advocacy organizations to
find solutions to this ongoing tragedy.
Systemic racism permeates nearly everything — from brutal police killings to
COVID-19’s disproportionate mortality rate among African Americans to the fact
that people of color are disproportionately affected by runaway climate change.
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.
As an immediate step, we encourage everyone to donate generously to
organizations promoting racial justice and raising funds for those affected by
this crisis. A few recommendations:
* Several groups in Minneapolis fighting for justice
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* Movement for Black Lives DC:
[[link removed]] A resource sharing project by organizations in the DC Movement for Black
Lives Coalition
* Richmond Community Bail Fund,
[[link removed]] Richmond Mutual Aid Distribution
[[link removed]] — a free store on wheels for resource redistribution in Richmond, VA
* Baltimore Safe Haven
[[link removed]] — a black trans led shelter — and Baltimore Acton Legal Team
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* Humanities Behind Bars,
[[link removed]] a grassroots collective dedicated to building inside/outside alliances and
re-entry networks of care
We also condemn all statements that condone or incite violence against those who
are exercising their First Amendment rights to protest this and other recent
deaths of African Americans across our country.
The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. We at CCAN have
participated in dozens of demonstrations that have been essential for growing
momentum for climate solutions. Yet, too often, African Americans are
disproportionately targeted at these protests. When CCAN Board Member and
frequent climate justice advocate Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. participated in
the March for Science, he was targeted and assaulted
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block traffic around the nation’s capitol to draw attention to the climate
crisis, our largely white group was able to block off several intersections
without trouble from the police — while the Black Lives Matter blockade was immediately targeted for arrests during the
protest and hassled afterwards.
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Everyone should have a right to protest without fearing being killed. Everyone
should have a right to walk down a street or sleep in their own bed without
fearing being killed.
For those of you reading this who are white, we encourage you to take this
opportunity to learn as much as you can about institutional racism and
privilege:
* Here’s a document with dozens of books, articles, podcasts, and more.
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* Here’s an article specifically about how racism and the climate crisis are
connected.
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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 respond to this email and we’ll work with you on this.
There is no climate justice without racial justice.
In solidarity forever,
The entire team at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network
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CCAN is building a people-powered movement for bold and just solutions to
climate change in the Chesapeake region of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington,
DC. We also act as "first-responders" to federal action on the climate crisis
and inspire climate action across the country.
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