Stronger Together: Dismantling Racism Takes Action, Not Just Words

Waterkeepers Chesapeake would like to address the latest events surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many other unarmed black people. We stand in solidarity with black, indigenous, and people of color who are routinely and disproportionately impacted every day by social, racial and environmental injustices. As Waterkeepers, we fight for clean water with frontline communities who suffer the impacts of systemic racism not just in actions like we have recently seen, but in decades of pollution dumped on their communities. To stop racism, we must be anti-racist in not just our words but in our actions. We urge you to have a conversation with friends and loved ones about the realities of systemic racism; make a contribution to an organization working to fight it; and seek out more education about the legacy of race and policing in America. The staff of Waterkeepers Chesapeake are united with our impacted communities here and across the country, and are committed to ensuring these communities’ voices are heard.

Included in this blog is a list of resources on how local communities are actively working to end racism in this country and throughout the world. We will continue to add resources to the list.

In addition, please read the statement from our Fair Farms campaign including some additional resources. Fair Farms is working to rebuild a broken food system that is founded on a persistent legacy of racism. To understand and begin to repair the root issues of inequality in our food system requires a deep look at its history and the ways in which it perpetuates racism in our country.

In peace & solidarity,
Betsy Nicholas, Executive Director