The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes, the murder of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police officers, the murders of Nina Pop and Tony McDade, and the murder of countless other Black individuals are a result of systems of white supremacy and institutional racism that all of us — including those of us in the climate movement — must actively work to dismantle.
We recognize that many people are outraged, hurting, and scared right now. Thousands of people are putting their bodies on the line to defy and disrupt an unjust system. Many more are playing critical support roles, providing community care, and speaking out. This is a moment both for grief, especially for Black people, and for action, especially from white people, who bear the greatest responsibility for perpetuating systems of white supremacy.
We stand with the people rising up in Minneapolis, across the United States, and around the world in demanding justice and fundamental change in the way our society, our governments, and our institutions operate. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter more than private property.
We join the call for an end to police violence — violence that is systematically perpetrated against Black communities and communities of color. Police violence and terror against protestors has been on full display over the past several days. We support calls to defund and demilitarize the police and invest in real solutions that keep communities safe.
We are in solidarity with those speaking out about the unrelenting injustice experienced by the Black community. As Mattias Lehman with the Sunrise Movement points out, “As a movement for climate justice, we know that it is necessary to dismantle the underlying systems of extraction, segregation, and racist inequality that have allowed for the exploitation of people and the environment they live in. We cannot achieve climate justice without moving away from police and prisons. Prison labor is only the newest form of racially inflected slave labor in America, with the police as the most recent arm of enforcement. Without racial healing and reparations, there cannot be climate justice.” To do this work we must follow the leadership of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color on the frontlines. We must also resist fascism in any form.
This is a moment when movements for social justice must join together in solidarity, speak out, and act to oppose white supremacy. We must end violence and injustice against Black communities and oppressed people. Oil Change is committed to standing with movements for racial and social justice and to fighting for a more just and equitable world for every one of us.
Resources
Donate to Racial and Social Justice
— Donate to Minneapolis group Reclaim the Block: https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2
— Donate to Minneapolis group Black Visions Collective: https://secure.everyaction.com/4omQDAR0oUiUagTu0EG-Ig2
— Donate to the local bail fund in your community: http://bit.ly/localbailfunds and “43 Bail Funds You Can Absolutely Support Right Now“
Take Action
— Tell the Minneapolis City Council to #DefundPolice: http://bit.ly/DEFUNDMPD
— Sign up for updates from the national Movement for Black Lives network: https://m4bl.org
— Find and follow the Black Lives Matter chapter and other Black-led organizations working to #DefendBlackLife in your local area.
— 26 Ways to Be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets (resource written in 2014)
Educate Yourself
— 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
— Movement for Black Lives Policy Platform
— Why we say #DefundPolice: “The only way we’re going to stop these endless cycles of police violence is by creating alternatives to policing” and “The answer to police violence is not ‘reform’. It’s defunding. Here’s why”
— Chart from Critical Resistance: Reformist reforms vs. abolitionist steps in policing
— Teaching Guide from Zinn Education Project: Teaching for Black Lives
— Collected national resource list of political education resources, bail funds, memorial funds, and more