Racism and the Environmental Movement
I am a young African-heritage male living in the United States. I am also an environmental activist. At the Eliminating the Effects of Racism in the Environmental Movement Workshop [see previous three articles], Nazish Riaz and I gave examples of environmental degradation as it relates to racism.
My story was about the World Bank and Haiti. A few decades ago, the World Bank told Haiti that for it to receive funds, Haitian farmers had to stop growing food and the country had to open up to trade. This led to a total destruction of the country’s agricultural infrastructure. Economic exploitation has long been part of the world’s interaction with Haiti—the first country of people of African descent to achieve independence from white colonialism.
Later I had the opportunity to talk about why Sustaining All Life went to Paris. I believe the main reason was to build relationships.
Milton, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders in the care of the environment
(Present Time 184, July 2016)