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At the Summit:
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With Justice for All
Hopi runners in Arizona call attention to the need to protect the San Francisco Peaks.
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by Carl Zichella
"The arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." —Martin Luther King, Jr. The Sierra Club has come a long way on addressing issues of environmental justice in the last decade, establishing programs on border issues, human rights and the environment, and fair trade among others. But have we gone far enough? In light of the experience we are going through in the Gulf Coast and how quickly our nation is changing demographically, we still have a long way to go. The need to organize in impacted communities has never been greater, nor has the disparity between who gets government protection and who does not. Richard Moore, director of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, one of the speakers at the “With Justice For All” panel Saturday, exhorted us to support the displaced communities in the Gulf Coast to ensure they are not shunted aside and erased from the landscape, and that how we address their plight portends how we handle similar communities and crises elsewhere. This is not a "not in my backyard" situation. Standing for environmental justice in one community is not just about that community, said Moore. It is about all such communities. Longlasting relationships need to observe a process that allows participants to participate as peers. Moore referred to the Jemez principles, which stress local determination and respectful and just interpersonal relationships as a framework for building the right kind of partnerships. How we treat each other is part of accomplishing the goal of demanding environmental justice. We need to continue our progress toward the transformation of the Sierra Club together. Not a takeover but a partnership. Also on the panel, moderated by the Club’s Andy Bessler, was Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network, who talked about the soul of Native American environmentalism, mindful of spiritual connection to the sacredness of Mother Earth. Crazy Horse. Sitting Bull. Geronimo. These were the John Muirs of Native American environmentalism. To Native American environmentalists active today, they represent an independent view of people's connection to the land and to each other. The culture and process of Native American activism is rooted in honoring matriarchal and mentoring traditions that develop leadership through acountability to the broader community. Integrating youth and elders into all levels of the work is part of that process. Bending the universe...How do we bend it toward justice? When we bend this universe how do we communicate our message so people will understand us? We are being outdone by our Republican adversaries. They spent extra energy to keep people divided, said Goldtooth. We need to overcome this. Events like the "Battle in Seattle” fighting the WTO showed how we can tear down the barriers between groups and stand together against international corporate power. Barriers may persist, like treaty rights, gaming rights. But people need to stand together because by ourselves we do not have the power to fight the interests trying to divide us. Poverty and racism are elements we need to confront. They perpetuate environmental injustice by concentrating the impacts of development in politically disadvantaged communities.
-- 09/10/2005 Sat |
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