We support the efforts of demonstrators and community leaders as they demand justice for the deaths of black Americans to widespread race-based violence and police brutality. We stand with them in demanding accountability, not only when abuse of power is caught on video, but as an integral element of a just society. We say the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, Tony McDade, Manuel Ellis and Yvonne McDonald, and know that they represent the lives of so many more.
Systemic racism, like climate change, is apolitical. It is a fact supported by data and it harms our colleagues, our students, our organizations, and the progress of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.
We acknowledge our own lack of diversity, and the existence of institutional, systemic barriers that prevent people of color from attaining the higher education required to work in STEM careers. The Estuarium is dedicated to the mission of keeping our education affordable and accessible to all in order to bridge this gap, and ensure environmental education can reach the communities that are most affected by climate change and environmental racism. We accept responsibility to listen, to learn, and to do our part in reforming our institutions and dismantling these barriers.
Black Lives Matter.
For those looking for information on this topic, here is a small list of resources put together by our Education Team:
- Black in Nature Series Podcast
- Diversity in the Great Outdoors
- Equity & Inclusion: Fighting Racism in the Outdoors
- Equity & Inclusion in Environmental Education
- How Environmental Racism Shapes Us
- How to be an Ally in the Outdoors
- I’m a Black Climate Expert. Racism Derails Our Efforts to Save the Planet.
- People of Color in the Outdoors
- Read Up on the Links Between Racism and the Environment
- The Unbearable Whiteness of Hiking and How to Solve It
- Why Every Environmentalist Should be Anti-Racist
