I convened a topic group on classism and the climate crisis at an Ending Classism Workshop that Dan Nickerson [International Liberation Reference Person for Working-Class People] recently led for our Region (the U.S. states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). I talked about how classism has contributed to the climate crisis—separating us from each other and encouraging exploitation of and damage to the environment. Then we took turns discharging on a couple of questions:
1) How has classism affected your perspective on climate change and the environment?
2) From your class perspective, what opportunities do you see for taking action to address the climate crisis?
Below are some insights from the group.
Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
I am an African American, raised-poor, working-class woman from the southern United States. I was pleased to hear my Regional Reference Person, who is white, Protestant, an elder, male, and middle class say that the large portion of U.S. emissions come from white middle- and owning-class people and communities. This makes sense to me because of the capitalistic, for-profit country I live in. For me that automatically means class separation.
I have a tree in my backyard that is leaning toward a power line. This occurred when hurricane winds came through my city. The power company has not come to cut it down because I live in a working-class side of town. The power company’s decision is based on classism as far as I am concerned, and also racism because I am African American. The economic and racial divide continues. This is what it is like to try to recover after being hit by a climate-change-driven disaster. [Since the workshop, a severe storm hit Angelia’s city and sent the tree through her roof. She and her family have moved to a motel while repairs are being made.]
Emissions anywhere hurt the climate everywhere. We need to learn to discharge the old distress recordings that keep us divided and separated so that we can create a livable environment for all of us. My Regional Reference Person talked about being told as a youngster that with hard work he could be anything he wanted to be—but he wasn’t told about the cost of doing that to the community and world. I wasn’t necessarily told that I could be anything I wanted to be, though I worked hard. We have both paid a high price because of the oppressive nature of classism and racism. Success in stopping climate change depends on people everywhere developing a real sense of being in this together with people everywhere, regardless of class or race.
I am not alone. We do not need to be stuck in whatever class we are in. Rather, we need to be connected to direct production workers to unite and inspire others to impact climate change. We can listen to people’s stories of hope. Hope is present in all classes. Hope looks forward.
The effects of being mixed class (working class trying to get to middle class) in combination with genocidal fears from being Native-raised-white collide for me to create numbness about many current issues, including what’s happening with our climate. In session I can pull my attention toward hope by noticing the significance of even small acts in regard to climate change. Wherever I am, I engage people to talk about the climate, remembering we are more alike than we are different.
The connection of the owning class to the early conservation movement got me thinking about my family. My great-grandfather was in the lumber industry. He made money from the trees. He helped determine the “value” of the trees for what became a U.S. National Forest. He had an amazing appreciation of the earth but also saw the money it could make our family. Over the years the money has been “laundered” [converted and transmitted] through a business and the stock market so that we can hardly pay attention to where it came from. It was helpful to counsel on “our money being trees.”
My white (European heritage), middle-class, male upbringing in the United States emphasized individual acts and initiative. I needed to stand on my own two feet [act alone], and success depended on what I did, not necessarily what I did with others. I was told I could be anything I wanted, but not what effect my choices might have on my family and my community. Through sports, I learned about working in teams to compete, but not how to organize for broad social change that could benefit us all. Because of classism and racism, my perspective has often lacked a sense of common purpose and connection to others.