“When we say we can’t breathe, we are not only talking about the knees on our necks and chokeholds from police, but also the squeezing of life from our lungs brought on by the pollution that the Trump Administration continues to pump into our bodies by the rolling back of the very laws that are meant to give us justice and access.” – Mustafa Santiago Ali
As events surrounding and preceding the death of George Floyd and other people of color continue to unfold, EPN stands with frontline communities, and supports the fight for racial justice and equality.
EPN has seen this administration discredit science, ignore the advice of experts and career staff, and use COVID-19 as an excuse to put communities at greater risk by rolling back important EPA enforcement efforts. We have also seen it tolerate and incite excessive force on black and brown civilians, as well as peaceful protesters across the country.
EPN, like EPA leadership from both sides of the aisle did for decades, recognizes the importance of fighting for environmental justice. We cannot fully protect human health if we don’t address the effects of systemic racism in creating and carrying out agency policies, programs, and activities. EPN will continue to hold EPA accountable to communities suffering disproportionately. We have a great responsibility to listen and respond to the voices of communities of color in all forms.
Please take a moment to hear Mustafa Santiago Ali (EPN member; Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization at NWF; and the former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice) being interviewed on the Trump on Earth podcast regarding the environmental movement’s role in addressing racism.