This Anti-Environment Capitalism Built on Slavery Must Go - Reflections from the 1619 Podcast
MUST LISTEN: 1619 Podcast from New York Times. Especially episodes 1 & 2
Regardless of the good that she has done, we must acknowledge that America’s super power comes from centuries of brutality. Acknowledge is not strong enough, we must act. But first we have to really deeply understand and allow ourselves to feel the horrors of this truth. This helps us draw up the emotion and energy to work for deep, lasting change.
“America was founded on the ideal of democracy. Black people fought to make it one.”
- 1619, A Podcast by the New York Times
Our all important economy, the principles of our esteemed capitalism, the democracy we are expected to die to defend, “the American way” of clawing to the top, the selfish pursuit of wealth that many of us abhor and perhaps have pondered halfheartedly for the origin—was built with slavery. From beating human bodies, separating families, and selling people in the masses to increase personal wealth. Our nation's founders may have desired freedom & independence, but not without the enslavement of humans to enjoy their freedoms and build their own wealth upon.
I am waking up to the reality of where I come from. I am waking up to the oppressive society and racist systems that have grown from brutal roots of slavery, that were publicly severed but not destroyed just 155 years ago.
Our American Dream was built on the backs of black people ripped from their homeland, people, culture, happiness, and identity. Homogenising nationality and ethnicities into one race to be exploited for lifetimes.
A culture founded in brutality of the vulnerable continues to oppress and take advantage and profit off the impoverished demographics. Of course our America is killing people. Of course the leaders value the economy over addressing healthcare and human rights.
Who is the USA to discuss justice or equality or democracy or even economics if it's on the backs of not just innocent, but oppressed and completely vulnerable humans? In fact, who am I to preach environmental justice, if my podium is constructed with the resources of white privilege built on the oppression of others? How can I speak of justice?
These brutal, oppressive systems that abandon America’s own Americans are still rooted in place, across all sectors of society. Since day dot, America has always valued profit over people.
As environmentalists, our fight for environmental justice is blind, uninformed, insensitive, egoic, and unabashedly privileged if we are not fighting for equality for all races. It is these demographics who suffer the environmental hardships we with privileged time and energy protest and discuss at cafes.
Our conservation policies and regenerative systems we are fighting to put into place have always valued local and small businesses, natural and repurposed materials, slow and transparent supply chains, circular systems for reduced waste and improved resource management, all of these things are good, but it’s not sustainable or regenerative or healthy if the folks benefiting from these policies are the same folks who have always benefited. We will be more consciously and more naturally perpetuating the oppressive systems. We will be eating organic and keeping an empty trash can, but still the communities of colour will be overworked and underpaid and unable to afford the eco lifestyle we preach and advocate for.
The environmental movement must stand up for and pull up black, indigenous, people of colour. It is the wealth gaps and opportunity inequality, that make people vulnerable to be taken advantage of by big oil, who cannot afford to defend their communities against the destruction of construction or poisons of fossil fuel extraction, who are targeted by poor quality food in plastic packaging. The culturally ingrained racist systems keep churning out dollars for the top people who come from a long history of stepping on people of colour to get there. Our campaigns targeting big corporations, targeted fossil fuel conglomerates, targeting governments to ban plastics—are the same targets for racial justice. Environmental destruction happens not to our front yards, but to the yards of BIPOC. We know we have to fight for this bit of nature. Perhaps we are finally seeing the human beings who are a part of these eco systems we are so impassioned to defend. And we now know it is these human beings we must defend above all, because in the nature-aligned, thriving world we dream of, there is not oppression and brutal capitalism. It is through peaceful community sharing of resources and honouring the land that we achieve the ecological balance we dream of.
This movement is about getting uncomfortable, facing the hard truths, and working to change the problematic systems. If we are going to change these systems to value the environment, we must change them to value humanity. This is a moment in history. We are mobilised. There is more energy and collaboration for change than ever before. You are either in this, or you’re on the wrong side of history.
Published 23 June 2020. My understanding and opinions have likely changed by the time you are reading this, as I continue to learn and unlearn. I welcome your comments for discussion.