Racial Justice and the Climate Justice
Studies have shown that Black Americans are twice as likely to die from climate-related diseases as Whites. In her recent book, Before the Streetlights Come On: Black America’s Urgent Call for Climate Solutions, Heather McTeer Toney calls on Black communities to take the lead in calling for climate justice.
Here are two examples of this happening:
- Jo and Joy Banner, co-founders of the Descendants Project, advocate against the industrial petrochemical plants that threaten the health of the mostly Black communities living in the area of Louisiana known as Cancer Alley. Currently they are working to prevent a grain terminal from being established “on top of” a residential community in Wallace. Click to view an NBC report about this.
- In St. James Parish, Louisiana most of the polluting plants are located in the fifth district, which is 80% Black. In 2018, international company, Formosa Plastics, decided to build a massive plastic factory in St. James. Not only was it emitting 22 toxic air pollutants, but as a plastics producer it is a significant contributor to climate change. Sharon Lavigne, founder of the grass-roots, faith-based project, Rise St James rallied the community to fight back. Click to watch “Fighting Polluting Industry in Cancer Alley”.
Forced Migration / Human Trafficking Webinar
U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking (USCSAHT) and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (NAC) hosted an online panel discussion June 14 to bring attention to the increase of human trafficking in the United States and around the world, much of which is due to increased forced migration. It included first-hand accounts from a migrant survivor of human trafficking and women religious who accompany migrants facing dangers posed by human traffickers. Sister Ann Scholz SSND moderated the discussion. Click here to watch and learn more.
