IN ORDER TO HAVE CLIMATE JUSTICE WE MUST STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT.

We know that climate change is one of the greatest issues of our time, which is why it is important to take action towards climate justice to ensure a just, equitable and livable planet for future generations. We must begin by dismantling the root causes of the climate crisis— the systems of oppression that have led to widespread social injustice and ecological catastrophe. Racism, sexism, colonialism, and classism are only a few of the corrupt ideologies that have acted as a cancer within our institutional power structures for centuries.

Our systems are not broken. They were created intentionally to cause destruction to our planet and to put Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities in the crosshairs of police violence, poverty and the worst impacts of climate change.

Black communities, especially Black women, experience systems of oppression from many directions. One example of an intersection between Black communities and climate change we see today is that the same companies that make profit off of people in detention centers and private prisons (who hold predominantly Black and Brown folks) are the same companies that fund deforestation, fossil fuels (92% of people living around fossil fuel sites are BIPOC in CA) and other forms of destruction to our communities and the planet.

Additionally, the US government pours massive amounts of  money into funding the police, an institution that was historically influenced by slave patrols and is still used as a tool of oppression today. The extensive funding of the police deprives others of vital resources.

By participating in divestment, you are able to help redistribute resources towards programs that support communities with the following:

• Education

• Rehabilitation programs

• Social workers

• Metal health programs

• Funding a just transition off of fossil fuels... and many more!

(FYI: crime manifests because of a lack of resources like the ones mentioned above.)

We must recognize the systemic, capitalist society we live in that is funding the oppression of Black communities.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We must all take part in defunding the police and the companies that are harming Black communities. Since traditional media doesn't tell the whole truth, individuals through social media (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) have become the most reliable news sources in the past few weeks. We need you to show solidarity to Black communities on social media by nominating your family and friends to take part in defunding oppression and destruction and investing in frontline solutions.

We are shifting our divestment campaign to align more closely with the Black Lives Matter movement. In this second wave of social media posts, we are asking our partners and allies to post about anything they feel they want to divest from, whether that is an institution or harmful practice, and what they want to invest in, i.e. local businesses or productive practices.

HOW IT WORKS

Write what you want to say on a piece of paper and take a picture of yourself with it. Tag @earthguardians, @youthvsapocalypse and use the hashtag #DivestChallenge. Reach out to your friends and family to do the same!

Examples:

• “I am divesting from Chase bank & Investing in a credit union"

• “I’m divesting from the industrial beauty complex, and investing into BIPOC owned beauty.”

• “My family is divesting from industrial food production. We are investing in building a chicken coop and sharing with our relatives.”

• Caption: “ Governor Newsome, defund Sacramento’s Police and fund Education”

• Caption: “We will divest from private prisons to community restorative justice in our high schools.”

• Caption: “Putting my money and energy into tapping into my healing and joy.”