If We Apply a Critical Race Lens to 2020, What do We See?
Written by Gabrielle Langkilde for Map-Collective.com
Climate justice is impossible without the defunding of the police and the demilitarization of our communities.
At first glance, the connection between these two things might not be so apparent, but, applying a critical race lens to these issues makes that connection all too clear.
Police forces are extensions of the US military. Over the past month, with the eruption of Black Lives Matter protests across the nation — and across the globe — countless videos of outrageous displays of police brutality and escalation tactics have emerged, from the tear gassing and shooting of protestors with rubber bullets to the rolling in of military vehicles upon protest sites to instill fear. These escalation and fear mongering strategies are straight out of the US military’s playbook.
Not only do the police and the military share the exact same playbook, but they also share the exact same purpose. To serve and protect property, not people. The US military has a history of invading, terrorizing, and pillaging Black and non-Black communities of color for their natural resources. But this history is later dressed up as a hero’s tale, with the military swooping in to save these communities from themselves and their lack of competency to rule themselves. In the same way, police forces in the US began as slave patrols, with their main purpose being the control of Black bodies and the protection of white men’s land and property from brown Indigenous bodies. And though they have deeply rooted histories of terrorizing Black bodies and pillaging of brown Indigenous communities, the story of the police force in America has also been rewritten into the false narrative that it is today — that police have our best interests at heart. That they are here to protect and serve all people.
Okay, but how does all of that connect to climate justice? What many don’t realize is just how enormous the US military’s carbon footprint is. It’s larger than 140 countries, making it the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Just like corporate supply chains, the military relies on a global network of container ships, cargo planes, and trucks to transfer its supplies from bombs to humanitarian aid. And while they haven’t ignored their contributions to climate change, attempting to increase renewable energy generation on its bases, their attempts at “going green” are futile as they still remain the largest consumer of hydrocarbons in the world and is engaged in a hydrocarbon-based weapons system for years to come. While police forces carbon footprints are not as enormous as the military, military and police funding come from the same pocket — with more than $5 billion dollars worth of military gear being sent to US police forces across the country since 2010, through the Pentagon’s 1033 program.
In addition to police brutality and the over-militarization of their communities, BIPOC, low-income communities, and other marginalized groups must also endure environmental hazards such as high concentrations of air pollution as a result of racist public policies like redlining, inner-city highway constructions, and urban renewal districts — again, enforced by no one other than the police. And with COVID-19 already disproportionately affecting Black and other communities of color, the stresses of over-militarization create an environment where BIPOC are even more susceptible to the disease.
This is why a critical race lens into 2020 is so important. Because without it, we can’t see that climate justice is racial justice. We can’t see that climate justice is abolishing the police and a future free of the military. And we can’t see that climate justice is creating a safe, healthy environment for our BIPOC communities, not just to survive, but to thrive.
Sources:
https://www.climatesolutions.org/article/1588363614-connecting-dots-covid-19-environmental-racism
https://earther.gizmodo.com/there-is-no-climate-justice-without-defunding-the-polic-1843833563
