Demanding justice for black lives everywhere

FRRACS stands against police brutality and demands justice for black lives everywhere.

The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are another reminder of the racism that is still deeply embedded in our society. We must work collectively to dismantle systemic racism. As part of this work, we must also recognize the white privilege that many of us carry and how to confront this privilege.
 
FRRACS’ fight to protect our Fore River Basin neighbors from Enbridge’s pollution is deeply intertwined with our stand for racial and economic justice. George Floyd cried out, “I can’t breathe,” as a Minneapolis police officer choked him to death, the latest in a centuries-long nightmare of systemic violence against black and brown bodies in the United States. Is his death a turning point, a time when our country will wake up and change? Only if we make it so.
 
As climate activists, we know that the same systemic racism that leads police and white supremacists to kill unarmed people of color, also results in polluting industries, including compressor stations, being sited in and near Environmental Justice Communities. COVID-19 victims and children with asthma in these same communities cry out, “I can’t breathe,” because air pollution has made their lungs vulnerable.
 
For more than 50 years, the best predictor of dangerously polluted sites in the United States is the color of the people who live there. This is a nightmare of violence against people of color too. From Louisiana’s Cancer Alley to Houston’s Ship Channel, to Standing Rock, to East Boston, Chelsea, and the Fore River Basin, black, brown, Asian-American and indigenous communities are endangered and sickened by polluting industries and busy highways near their homes. Recent studies showing disproportionate illness and death from COVID-19 in Mass. communities of color exemplifies the deadly results of the intertwining of racial and economic injustice with environmental injustice.
 
Only systemic change can build healthy communities and a healthy nation, where racial, economic, and environmental justice are foundational. The FRRACS community is committed to building that healthy community where everyone can breathe without fear. Yes, by fighting Enbridge’s compressor station that threatens local Environmental Justice Communities, along with the wider community, but also by standing against white supremacy and all forms of violence against communities of color.
 
We encourage you to join us in supporting the fight for racial justice. This website has a list of action items, many of which you can do from home. If you can, consider donating to organizations fighting for justice. Here’s a list of some books on the topics of race, racism, and white privilege. If you attend a protest, know your rights. The ACLU has a guide here. Want to learn more? Visit the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture resources for Talking About Race.

To support local organizations, go to:
 GreenRoots Chelsea 
ACE

In Peace and Solidarity,
The FRRACS Team