Published on June 10, 2020 by Denise Chow, NBC News
The death of George Floyd in police custody sparked a movement that has focused national attention on institutional racism that permeates nearly every aspect of society. And that includes climate change.
Now, climate activists and scientists say a similar reckoning needs to happen in the environmental movement, which experts say has had a long, uneasy relationship with racial politics.
“There’s a level of racism in the movement itself, where some folks think that talking about these issues is a distraction,” said Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. “Nobody is donning a white hood, but the racism and implicit bias is evident.”…
…”When America has a cold, black folks have the flu,” said the Rev. Michael Malcom, executive director of Alabama Interfaith Power and Light, a religious organization based in Birmingham that aims to mobilize congregations throughout Alabama to address climate change. Read more here
