January 17, 2022
In recent years, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has made climate justice a primary focus of its work and advocacy; through its Environmental and Climate Justice Program (ECJP), the organization analyzes and exposes connections between fossil fuel use and racial injustice.
As Brandon Derman discusses in his article, “‘Climate change is about us”: Fence-line communities, the NAACP and the grounding of climate justice,” the ECJP’s findings showcase climate change’s inordinate impact on people of color. Communities that lose homes due to extreme weather or are exposed to toxic chemicals by pollution are disproportionately inhabited by Black Americans.
Jaqueline Patterson, a director of the program, explained to The Root in 2010 how poverty and discrimination, which already jeopardize minorities, can exacerbate the threats posed by climate change: “African-American communities are often starting from a place of substandard school systems, compromised access to quality health care, as well as job, housing, or other vulnerability which makes facing these challenges even more impactful than they would be on a person or community with more resources and access to quality services.” The NAACP, arguably the most influential organization associated with race-related advocacy in America, now considers climate justice to be one of the most important issues in the fight for racial equality.
Derman, B. (2020). “Climate change is about us”: Fence-line communities, the NAACP, and the grounding of climate justice. In T. Jafry (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice (pp. 407-419). Routledge.
Patterson, J. (2010). “Your Take: Climate Change Is a Civil Rights Issue”, The Root
