Intersectional Environmentalism
Environmental racism, first coined by Dr. Benjamin Chavis in 1982, is systemic racism manifesting as environmental hazards that disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latine, Asian, and other people of color. Made to live in “sacrifice zones” and “fenceline” communities, they are often least responsible for these unsustainable environmental hazards while most harmed by them. Environmental racism adds to, and results from, existing structural oppression.
Environmental racism around the world shows how systemic racism, colonialism, imperialism, and racial capitalism continue to perpetuate harmful and long-standing inequities around every aspect of livability, such as food access, drinkable water, clean air, toxic waste, housing, income, location, disaster recovery, mobility, pollution, health and mortality rates.
Climate crises compound the disproportionate and interconnected harms (both environmental and social) already suffered by marginalized communities. “The worst disasters are never colorblind” because climate change amplifies existing racial inequities.
“Climate change is a multiplier of injustice...the way our society is constructed exacerbates [the effects of] climate change.”
—Jacqueline Patterson, Director of NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program
→ Refer to the section on Who is harmed and who is helped? (distributive justice)
Environmental Justice (EJ) counteracts environmental racism. First championed by leaders like Dr. Robert Bullard and Hazel M. Johnson, environmental justice is now a broad movement that shows how **social justice is inextricable from climate justice. EJ advocates for community-led and decolonial climate solutions that center justice for those most harmed. (Read The Principles of Environmental Justice and other founding resources here.)
As a result of environmental racism, Black, Hispanic/Latine, Indigenous, Asian, and other marginalized communities have been fighting on the frontlines for both racial justice and climate justice for decades. Thanks to EJ leaders like Peggy Shepard, there is increasing evidence and recognition that social justice and climate change are interconnected around the world. EJ has grown internationally to recognize the direct links between social, environmental, economic, political, food, and health justice.
“Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery. The communities that are most impacted by Covid, or by pollution, it’s not surprising that they’re the ones that are going to be most impacted by extreme weather events. And it’s not surprising that they’re the ones that are targeted for racial violence. It’s all the same communities...and you can’t treat one part of the problem without the other, because it’s so systemic.”
— Elizabeth Yeampierre, “Unequal Impact: The Deep Links Between Racism and Climate Change”