Issue: Principles & Processes

Investing in community-based groups and networks is necessary to build resilience for good emergency response. This report studied different community responses to COVID-19 to help us imagine better responses to climate disaster impacts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, established community organizations, newly formed grassroots efforts, government, and funders all came together in various configurations, based on preexisting relationships and networks. Racism and other systems of oppression were the primary drivers behind COVID inequities. The people interviewed for this report agreed that our cities and our state governments were unprepared for COVID and that we are similarly unprepared for climate change emergencies. What is specifically needed to be better prepared for responses to climate crisis emergencies is investment in the capacity of the organizations themselves, including people (most importantly), back-of-house infrastructure, and technology. Building resilience must be people focused, intersectional, institutional, and rooted in anti-racist/anti-oppressive ideology and practice.

Studies have shown that low-income communities and communities of color are subject to poor health outcomes and loss of life because of exposure to toxins and the negative impacts of climate change. Thus, it is important to develop open and inclusive solar policymaking that addresses past, current, and future impacts of pollution on BIPOC and other frontline communities. Equitable solar policy must incorporate transparency, ownership, accountability, and lead communities to a more resilient and just future.

Movement organizations can run multiple types of campaigns—and momentum is a key factor to harness for campaign victories. This report from the movement training organization Momentum describes what a campaign is, types of campaigns, ways movements run campaigns, and the necessary role of campaign momentum and trigger events. This report provides detailed examples of different types of campaigns (e.g., structure-based organizing, mass protest, hybrid) and their strengths and weaknesses. It also describes the differences between distributed versus decentralized national campaigns. Lastly, it prepares movement organizations for how to react to trigger events that can be harnessed for campaign momentum.

It’s key for organizations to ensure they’re practicing disability justice in their work. “Disability Justice: An Audit Tool” is aimed at helping Black, Indigenous and POC-led organizations (that are not primarily focused around disability) examine how well they’re practicing disability justice, and where they want to learn and grow. It includes questions for self-assessment, links to access tools, organizational stories and more. You can download a PDF of the tool.

The first chapter of the Washington State Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF)’s Fall 2020 report provides context for what environmental justice (EJ) is, how to build on existing EJ work in Washington, and why state government must prioritize addressing EJ issues and environmental health disparities. The second chapter focuses on the EJTF’s process for developing recommendations, a statewide EJ definition, and EJ principles. The final chapter of the report includes all EJTF recommendations. The report appendices include additional resources, including guidance developed by the EJTF’s Community Engagement Subcommittee for how state agencies can develop their own community engagement plans.