The impacts of Hurricane Laura will be devastating for Black and Latinx Communities
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the people who will be most impacted by Hurricane Laura are Black and Latinx; it should outrage you. It’s not right, and so we have to say something and do something. And not just tomorrow or this week when it’s front page news, but for a lifetime. This is a wrong that has to be righted, by our governments at the federal, state, and local levels, and by us as individuals.
Environmental injustice, made worse by climate change, is one of the many hideous dimensions of racism in this country, and it’s getting worse by the day. These inequities are systemic, and we have to change them deep within our laws, institutions, and investments. And not just as a storm hits, but long before. We cannot wait for disaster to mitigate it. Then, it’s too late.
If one community suffers, we all suffer. That’s what it means to be a nation — to be in communion with others. The suffering from this storm will be brutal, intense, and extraordinarily unequal. The predictions are dire. Those of us who can give have the responsibility to help others.
My thoughts are with everyone in the path of this storm, and so is my heart, my wallet, my education, my skillset, and my time. I am especially focused on those who are most vulnerable and will not have the means to recover on their own.
For more information on how this specific storm is impacting people of color and those who are most vulnerable, Union of Concerned Scientists published a concise and thoughtful piece today by Dr. Juan Declet-Barreto, a climate vulnerability social scientist, with data, maps, and background information. It’s a quick and necessary read for all of us: https://blog.ucsusa.org/juan-declet-barreto/hurricane-laura-and-the-inequities-of-evacuating-to-safety
