"'Hold my earrings: Black women lead on systemic solutions in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond," 5 June 2020

In African American communities across the U.S., COVID-19 is taking our loved ones... at an agonizing, disproportionate rate... Centuries of racist policy and practice have shaped the neighborhoods we live in, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, our access to education and justice, and the health care we receive (or don’t)... African Americans breathe far more deadly air pollution, which has been linked to a higher risk of death from COVID-19... While fossil fuel companies draw billions of dollars in profit, our communities literally choke to death on their emissions.  

... In the short term, we need emergency policy solutions such as cash payments, increased unemployment insurance, student debt deferments and moratoriums on utility shut-offs. In the long term, we need transformational policies aimed at shifting away from the “winner takes all” capitalist economy. That includes policies to end pollution and over-policing in our communities... BIPOC women are taking the lead on systems change, both during the pandemic and in the ongoing climate crisis... Savi Horne of the Land Loss Prevention Project is fighting for land stolen from Black families... Monica Lewis-Patrick of We the People Detroit is fighting against water shut-offs in her city; ensuring that all people have the power to claim the human right to water... Wahleah Johns of Native Renewables and  Denise Fairchild of Emerald Cities Collaborative are working to heal the climate and build sustainable, equitable local economies through community-owned, renewable power systems.