NC WARN Statement on Police Violence and Systemic Racism
NC WARN has worked for many years to challenge environmental racism and economic injustice. Since 2013, we have also been formally working to become an anti-racist organization – one that helps the broader society finally come to grips with the systemic racism that’s causing devastation on so many fronts. In 2014, we upgraded our mission statement to be more intentional about our focus by adding this important clause “NC WARN seeks to address the needs of all of the public by intentionally including those often excluded from participation because of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression.”
We take part in dismantling racism workshops, we read and discuss anti-racist literature. We take steps to become aware of institutional racism and to minimize it within our own operations. We invite you to explore the resources on this page and to lean into this effort with us. Questions? Suggestions? Email ncwarn@ncwarn.org.
The video below is from #BlackSummer19, a Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) campaign that aims to raise awareness about climate change while focusing on the knowledge and experiences of people of color, something that is typically overlooked in the movement.
Learn more about NC WARN’s Equity & Inclusion work:
- Our Equity & Inclusion Values Statement, adopted in 2019
- Our “SMARTE” goals
- Organizing Director Connie Leeper’s essay “Everybody’s Movement”
Solidarity Actions:
- Amicus brief in ongoing Zared Jones case in Greensboro
- Hurricane Florence Relief and Recovery Fund
- Greensboro Issues Historic Apology for Police Complicity in 1979 KKK and Nazi Massacre
Some helpful resources we’ve used:
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh (1989)
- Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist, Multi-Cultural Organization
- The Our Power Plan: Charting a Path to Climate Justice – Climate Justice Alliance
- YES! Youth Explore the Climate Crisis in North Carolina – 22-minute video from Youth-Empowered Solutions showing how racial justice and environmental justice go hand in hand. Some of NC’s top environmental justice activists are featured, including former NC WARN youth organizer Jennifer Eison.
- American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges – Smithsonian|National Museum of the American Indian
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice – Moving from Actor -> Ally -> Accomplice
- 5 Tips For Being An Ally – by Franchesca Ramsey
Allies doing great work in this area:
Beloved Community Center
Climate Justice Alliance
Down East Coal Ash Environmental and Social Justice Coalition
Environmental Justice Leadership Forum
Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) People’s Assembly Coalition
NC Climate Justice Collective
NC NAACP
Poor People’s Campaign
Social Designs Consulting
