Over the past five months, we have witnessed a historical convergence of a worldwide pandemic, a major economic recession, and extensive social injustices in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities throughout California and beyond. We at ARCCA stand in solidarity with BIPOC communities fighting for justice.
We understand that we cannot achieve climate justice without racial and social equity. We acknowledge the broader context of climate change and its direct ties to systemic inequity, with racial inequality at the forefront. The systems of power that have allowed for the current climate crisis are the same systems that have upheld institutionalized racism.
In this time of unlearning and dismantling white supremacy, we aim to position ourselves as part of the fight for racial and social equity. We will actively work to partner with and amplify the voices of climate justice advocates working to dismantle the systematic disenfranchisement of Black communities, Indigenous peoples, and communities of color across California. We will leverage our position as a statewide convener of over 2,000 stakeholders and professionals to increase our individual and collective awareness of privilege and race in the context of climate change – to then catalyze action towards an equitable, climate-resilient future.
We commit to taking the following steps as a starting point:
- Integrate Just Transition and community-driven planning principles, processes, and practices into ARCCA’s Guiding Principles for Adaptation and Collaboration.
- Review and update ARCCA’s governance structure to ensure racially equitable and inclusive decision-making while diversifying our leadership team, partnerships and membership.
- Center our upcoming member meeting on racial equity and addressing institutionalized racism in the climate adaptation field.
- Work with our member regional collaboratives to support their own efforts to advance racial equity in their work and their organizations.
- Strengthen our capacity to ensure equity in all forms through increased listening, education, and inclusion, and work towards operationalizing equity and establishing evaluation measures.
