Where climate change and racial injustice intersect

Black people need to be more aware of climate change and how it shapes our lives, contends  Colette Pichon Battle, the founder and co-executive director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy. 

Battle is responsible for programming that focuses on equitable disaster recovery, global immigration, community economic development and climate justice. Last week she was in London to attend the Westminster Town Hall series regarding climate change science and solutions.

She spoke to MSR shortly before her April 27 appearance at Westminster Presbyterian Church, downtown Minneapolis. “I feel like Black folks have got to wake up to this because we are going to be the first ones hit and sacrificed,” said Battle, “and always we’re the first ones to perish in this thing that we are not paying any attention to.”

Battle is a Bayou Liberty, Louisiana native. He is part of the Gulf Coast, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi Texas, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. 

She has worked with elected officials and local communities in post-Katrina oil spillage disaster recovery. She actively advocates for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and racial justice with equity at its core.  

“I think we’re dealing with an industry that has the most power in the world, especially in our government, especially in the South,” continued Battle. “And they were really trying to avoid liability and accountability at all costs, and make record profits. The truth is, this has been a political move from the beginning.”

Her 30-minute speech and Q&A afterward last week focused on how citizens can respond to climate disasters and ensure migration in ways that can actually make positive change for communities of color. 

“I pray every day that the almost 2,000 lives that were lost in Katrina are not lost in vain,” she told the audience. “I pray every day that people will understand that this climate crisis is not something of the future, but it is something that is here. We have been working on this for a while.”

Battle further explained, “We are in that moment now around the climate crisis [where]We need to address this crisis by addressing it through the support of religious institutions, government, and people. It is not possible to win it with a single piece of policy. 

“It’s not going to be won by protests in the streets alone. It’s only going to be won when regular people like you and me stand up and start fighting, not just for the trees and the birds and the soil of this planet, but for the people who exist in that broader ecosystem.”

She continued, “The biggest thing we suffer from especially in this country is comfort and privilege. We live in such comfort and privilege that we don’t have to look at what is happening around the world. We don’t have to think about the suffering of all communities in order to be comfortable.  

“We have to tell the truth that it is American consumption that is driving a global imbalance.  One American consumes more energy than 13 Chinese people, and as much as 127 people in Bangladesh. 

“We are 5% of the population and we’re taking almost 30% of its resources,” Battle said. She reminded the audience, “Our consumption and our privilege and our oppressive tactics globally” have adversely affected communities of color both nationally and worldwide.”

“These are the front lines of the climate crisis. These are often people who have contributed the least to the problem that are experiencing right now the worst impacts, and we haven’t even hit what we know we will hit in just a few years to come,” she said.

One of her suggestions for reform was that citizens must take back their power and exercise it, with the ballot box being a first step. “We must be accountable, and we must have folks representing us who understand accountability,” she said.  

“Power is being used in a way right now that I think is really hurting us. It is important to talk about power with the understanding that real power lies in the community. The real power is in our control. Our plan to challenge power demands that all of us vote and that we get others to vote. 

“We must all join this fight because this is not a fight for voting rights. This is a fight for a vision of democracy that we have yet to reach. This is about changing our society,” Battle said as she received a rousing standing ovation from the Westminster audience. 

“We can make solutions for a better and more sustainable future. This is not about shifting from gas to renewables… This climate crisis is part of a broader system that connects to criminal justice, connects to education, and connects to health care.”

As we wrapped up our MSR interview, Battle reiterated the importance of Black people realizing that the climate crisis, now in a pandemic world, is not a White people’s problem. “I want Black folks to know that climate is about Black lives,” she said.  

“That the people who were lost in Katrina was us. That the biggest thing that we have to fear is what is coming to our inner cities—not just police, but heat and how that is going to harm so many of us who live in public housing or concrete jungles.  

“I hope that folks will take the time to learn about how climate intersects with justice, how climate justice intersects with racial justice, and how we all need to actually be a part of the solution.”

Colette Pichon Battle’s speech can be viewed at www.westminsterforum.org.

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