Recent events make clear that we are in the grips of an unholy trinity of crises: the Covid-19 pandemic, the struggle to confront systemic racism, and the ongoing climate emergency. The three do not operate independently of each other, but rather are closely linked, even intertwined. How we address them and their interconnections will determine the future of our nation and the planet.

The pandemic and its racially disproportionate impact, followed by the killing of George Floyd and other shocking instances of police violence, have vividly exposed the longstanding racial injustice that forms the core of the American experience. "Whether it is a global pandemic, climate change, or policy brutality, people of color -- particularly black communities -- are always the first and worst hit, and it must end," says  Alvaro S. Sanchez, the  Environmental Equity Director at The Greenlining Institute in Oakland.

Fighting climate change, in short, means we have to fight racial injustice; they must be addressed together. As activist  Elizabeth Yeampierre contends, "you can't treat one part of the problem without the other, because it's so systemic."

A George Floyd mural in Houston. Photo by Alfred J Fortier licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

The evidence is overwhelming that communities of color are the most threatened by air and water pollution and by Covid-19. 

Recent data from CDC shows that the Covid-19 death rates among African American and Hispanic/Latino people are much higher than for whites in all age categories. In every age category, the black mortality rate is roughly the same as whites more than a decade older. The age-specific death rates for Hispanic/Latino people fall in between.

When it comes to exposure to pollution, the data is not any better. "Sixty-eight per cent of black people live within thirty miles of a coal-fired power plant," notes  Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. in a recent interview with Bill McKibben. "We know that the destruction of Hurricane Maria, Harvey, Katrina, and Superstorm Sandy all had a direct impact not only on marginalized and vulnerable communities but on communities of color, which reinforces that racial justice and climate justice are linked." Yeampierre points specifically to the prevalence of asthma and upper respiratory disease in black communities. In her words, "we've been fighting for the right to breathe for generations."

Just how bad are the disparities? Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington last year compared Americans' exposure to fine particulates to how much pollution their consumption generates. They found that non-Hispanic whites experience 17% less exposure to pollution, on average, than their own consumption causes. In stark contrast, African-Americans are exposed to 56% more pollution than their consumption generates, and the Hispanic/Latino population experiences 63% more. It would be hard to find a more striking illustration of white privilege.

White environmentalists often jump to the conclusion that communities of color are too caught up in their short-term struggle for survival to care about climate change. But, in fact, climate change is not an abstract concept to black and brown people; they are faced with the consequences of climate instability on a near daily basis. As a result, these under-served communities represent what one analyst calls "a well of support for broader action." In fact, a poll conducted a year ago by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that 49% of white respondents expressed "alarm" or "concern" about global warming. The figures for Hispanic/Latino and African-American respondents were 69% and 57%, respectively.

The message is that we have to break out of our silos and build a broad-based, multiracial coalition to fight for both climate and racial justice. We must end the practice of making some communities sacrifice zones, understanding that in the end we all pay a price for this short-sighted approach, and instead build a clean energy economy that benefits all and strengthens the resilience of local communities.

Peter Bardaglio

TCCPI Coordinator