OpEds by Got Green appear in the South Seattle Emerald every month.
by Marion Romero and James Williams
As the month of April begins to unfold, the infamous Earth Day rolls around. Like years before, many people will plant trees, participate in park clean ups, or attend fairs that focus on sustainability and a cleaner planet. While these are positive things, we must understand that celebrating the Earth one day a year will not stop climate change.
In Washington State, we like to think we’re progressive, but I’m not convinced we know what that means. Washington State has some of the most backward, upside down systems in place that do an injustice to low-income folks and people of color: like our regressive tax code, over-policing students of colors in our schools, the ever-growing homeless population, and child hunger, to name a few.
“Sidewalk closed.” I stepped around the construction site sign, pressed the crosswalk button, and waited. The usual traffic on Alaska Street crossed in front of me, loud but not so as loud to drown out the voices of construction workers behind me.
“And did you hear about the synagogue in Pittsburgh? All those Jews being killed?” one man asked another, who responded “Oh, yeah,” like he’d rather not talk about it.
Growing up in Seattle, I was a youth who didn’t feel like I had a future. It was a feeling that I was heading into a dead end and failing in this economy, that I couldn’t take care of myself and my family. I felt alone in this feeling, stuck and exhausted. It wasn’t until I joined Got Green in 2009, that I started to feel like my presence and opinions mattered, that I didn’t need a masters degree or a fancy title to advocate for my community. Through the environmental justice movement and being supported by our elders, I found we were the experts of our conditions and community was most qualified to come up with the solutions because we were living and breathing the conditions ourselves.
There is an acute lack of representation of people of color in the green sector. According to the thoroughly researched Green 2.0 report, the percentage of minorities on the boards or general staff of environmental organizations in the US does not exceed 16 percent. Once hired in environmental organizations, ethnic minorities are concentrated in the lower ranks. As a result, ethnic minorities occupy less than 12 percent of leadership positions in the green sector.
This past year has been a very difficult one. With global fascism on the rise, the war has continued to escalate against people of color, women, trans and gender non-conforming folks, disabled people, and anyone who is economically disadvantaged. Here in Seattle, the housing catastrophe has intensified, with over 12,000 people living houseless at any given time.
The lack of affordable places to live, fueled by rising rents and home prices, has pushed many people out of the city, and some people out of stable housing altogether. Building a lot more housing in North Seattle won’t solve South End displacement, but we, members of Share the Cities, believe it is a piece of the housing crisis puzzle and will take some of the gentrification pressure off areas at risk of displacement throughout Seattle. Share The Cities is asking you to take action by October 24 on the Talaris Master Use Permit. This historic open space should be used as the catalyst for a more affordable community, with abundant housing choices.
Justice is an abstract concept implored in the name of fairness, impartiality, and equity. These are often used interchangeably, but maintain subtle distinctions. Fairness can be understood as treatment without favor or discrimination. Impartiality can be understood as neutrality and objectiveness. Equity can be conceptualized as the application of fairness and impartiality.
Mayor Jenny Durkan’s announcement that she wants the city to come up with a plan for “congestion pricing,” to toll surface streets in downtown and South Lake Union, is only the latest in a growing tradition of city policies that are meant to sound and feel good, but that are deeply delusional and throw Seattle’s working poor under the bus – in this case, literally. Continue reading OPINION: Congestive Failure→
Amplifying the Authentic Narratives of South Seattle
