Hello Friend,
As some of you know, I spent a few important years of my life working in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The impacts on my life are incalculable. I was forever changed by my time in Biloxi and New Orleans.
Recent events have caused me to think about that time and place, and how interconnected we are in our struggles.
Hurricane Katrina was the first of many natural disasters in North America and the Caribbean caused by climate change. Although we knew at the time that our country and others would face more and more super storms and climate disasters, I did not imagine that they would happen at least annually before I even hit 40. The devastation in the Bahamas is the latest climate disaster, and the pictures are becoming too familiar as Black and Brown communities struggle to survive and rebuild.
I encourage you to give to support a just recovery. And I urge you to join the movement to end climate change.
Join the People's Climate Movement and #StrikeWithUs on September 20th.
The July raids across poultry factories in Mississippi have also torn at my heart this summer. The 650 workers whose lives and homes were disrupted by ICE raids deserve better. These workers had already faced wage theft and fought back. And in turn our country criminalized them.
It is also my sincere belief that this group of immigrants were targeted because they live in states without additional local immigration protections and fewer solidarity institutions that would help these workers stay safe and fight deportation. That's why I'm proud to hear that Natalie Patrick-Knox, Jobs With Justice immigration organizer will be on the ground in Mississippi supporting families and working to build long-term power.
You can support her work building power in Mississippi by giving here.
Until then, in solidarity with struggles around the world,
Elizabeth
