WHAT SOCIAL JUSTICE

What Social Justice Movements All Have in Common

by Jen Dalke

With unprecedented weather events, worldwide virus spread and enormous racial justice movements, the world is in a real upheaval right now. Th ese events are all intricately tied together, with many overlapping objectives. Environmental advocates are connecting the dots between the pandemic and ecology. Th is outbreak was not a complete surprise, yet economic agendas have blocked preventative measures in many countries. Many connections are obvious; there is a plethora of evidence connecting disease spread and water supply. Th en add air quality, food quality (including factory farming), living conditions, the state of healthcare and any number of other elements. To touch briefl y on the factory farming phenomenon, livestock seems to be a hot spot for disease spread. Th e conditions of factory farms are beyond gross. Animals are kept practically on top of one another, their “living” conditions are oft en fi lthy and mismanaged; should an outbreak of disease occur, it is oft en concealed to prevent lost profi ts. Th is practice of pretending nothing is wrong puts hundreds or even thousands of lives at risk because the situation is not being fully managed just to save a dollar. Support local farms. Th e petrochemical boom has created jobs at cracker plants and fracking sites that have appeared among the large pockets of natural gas being explored in the U.S. Th is industry has always been an important source of profi t and is one of the most destructive forces to the environment. To add insult to injury, much low-income housing is situated near sources of industrial pollution, exacerbating racial and class struggles. We’re seeing thousands of lower-income white families struggling in the rural countryside with fracking wellsite pollution, and we’re seeing thousands of lower-income Black and Hispanic families near the urban sources of pollution where much of the fracked natural gas is processed and made into other products. Th ese operations are rarely situated near newer, more expensive housing. Although fi nding quality, aff ordable healthcare is still very much a class struggle across races, Black/Indigenous/people of color (BIPOC) are still experiencing an entirely diff erent struggle than those of Caucasian descent, including limited access to higherpaying jobs (with less access to healthcare and benefi ts). BIPOC also tend to receive lesser-quality healthcare when they dosee a medical professional. Th ese elements create a diffi cult formula for surviving a pandemic, and that means BIPOC are being hit the hardest. Th e country cannot solve any one of these pressing issues without addressing all three, but notaddressing them is what got us here in the fi rst place, so the time has come to fi nally do this work. It is not an insurmountable demand; this is what we can do to help.

Educate: We must educate ourselves, our family and our friends about all three. Educate them about ways to help the environment, about the immune system and about racism. Holding each other accountable for the well-being of the planet and everyone on it does not have to be seen as authoritarian. Stand up for BIPOC: What we tolerate and accept in ourselves and others either enables or disables the harmful beliefs and actions that brought us to this breaking point. Support BIPOC-owned businesses and causes: If we’re not on any form of social media (where these resources are running rampant right now), search online and fi nd them.

Jen Dalke is a member of the nonprofi t South Fayette Conservation Group and the Founder of Blue Heron Nature Skills. She can be reached at BlueHeronNatureSkills.com.