Recent winter storms and environmental disaster in Texas further remind us that the state is not prepared, not investing in and often not interested in providing communities what they need in facing the disasters we have created through global environmental destruction and exploitation. And, as with COVID, fires, unpredictable weather, the breaking of dams and destruction of ways of living that allowed for a regeneration of resources and land, the impact is greatest for those already struggling for daily survival and most impacted by inequality. Where local and national government has failed, mutual aid groups have stepped in to provide material support for directly impacted communities. But the vast resources of this wealthy nation need to be redirected towards human and planetary need and towards stop further destruction. As the legal arm of movements for radical change, we recognize that we must do more coordinated work to support environmental justice, such as litigation to force the state to more responsibly and equitably prepare for environmental disasters and do more to prevent them. This is not just an issue unique to Texas; every year, the worsening wildfire season is also a grave reminder of California’s failures to protect our frontline communities. Nationally, COVID shows our inability to even provide basic support and prevention materials, safe housing, safe food, release from dangerous jails and prisons. Our Environmental Justice Committee (EJ committee) of the NLG-SFBA seeks to support the organizing of frontline communities in the Bay Area most impacted by environmental conditions and to fortify their efforts by providing legal defense and support. (If you are interested in getting involved in the EJ Committee please contact Zsea at zsea@nlgsf.org.) We also continue to turn inwards to examine harmful dynamics within our own organization. Last night, we hosted our member workshop, Interrupting Harmful & Problematic Dynamics, as the second installment of a two-part training by Aorta. With this training, we learned tools to handle intervention and normalize interruption of them collectively. At the end of the day, interrupting day-to-day dynamics is never about the interests of an individual, but rather about addressing the collective harm. These workshops were a beginning to more proactively addressing harmful and problematic dynamics based on interpersonal, institutional and cultural relations of power. In March, our membership meeting will use these trainings as a basis to discuss how these dynamics more specifically show up in the NLG-SFBA chapter, and how to address them in a more systematic and ongoing way. - The NLG-SF Bay Area Team |
