The killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, and so many others has brought us to a real and urgently-needed discussion about systemic racism. At SEEC PAC we know that the clean, sustainable future we are fighting for is not possible without a Democracy that truly provides peace and justice for all, and that all of us must take up the work of rooting out racism in our country.
In particular, this moment creates an even higher level of urgency on our work for environmental justice. In the U.S., race is the biggest indicator of whether you live near toxic waste, and people of color are exposed to 38% higher levels of nitrogen dioxide than white people. Over and over again, communities of color suffer from higher rates of exposure to hazardous air and water pollution from power plants, waste sites, ports and freeways, industrial activities, and many other sources of pollution — which leads to long-lasting and consequential health outcomes that also make it harder for black Americans to breathe. And more recently, it’s part of what has led to a significantly higher death rate from coronavirus in black communities. These outcomes are the result of entrenched racist patterns and policies, and it’s all of our jobs to dismantle these systems.
This work is intersectional and interconnected; We know that a sustainable, just and lasting peace can only be found by working together to dismantle structural racism across our society. We are ready to partner in this work.