At Green For All, we’re always talking about the significance of placing those most impacted by a problem at the center of creating solutions. For climate change, that’s indigenous people, people of color, and low-income people all over the world. The People’s Climate March used this rhetoric from the very beginning, and emphasized the importance of having those hit first and worst by climate change as full owners, drivers, and participants. I’m happy to say that my experience of the March was exactly in line with those values.
I began the morning in Central Park with the Indigenous People’s Contingent, co-organized by Amazon Watch and several other groups. We shared a meal and began our journey with song and prayer. Those who participated were reminded that all land in this country began as Native American land, and those tribes who continue to occupy sovereign territories within our borders are heavily impacted by the shifting temperatures, rising sea levels, and the gradual destruction of their traditional ways of life. We ended on a hopeful note: We know what the solutions are, and with the right kind of collective courage and action, we can ensure that our beautiful cultures are protected and given the opportunity to flourish far into the future.
We spent the majority of the March behind the Aztec dancers, who came out in full regalia with headdresses and ankle shells. They burned copal in swinging containers around themselves, while women held babies in wraps close to their chests as they danced. When we passed beneath towers on Central Park West, huge hanging banners greeted us and dozens of people leaned out from their windows to wave and salute our March.
I felt honored to have my parents and husband with me. Saving the planet is a family affair. It was my grandmother and my parents, after all, that first inspired me to care about the environment – the backyard gardens, the constant emphasis on not wasting anything. It was beautiful to see so many families there. I ran into my dear friend Billy Parish of Mosaic, a solar energy investment platform, his wife Wahleah Johns, a project manager for the Black Mesa Water Coalition, and their two beautiful little girls. This morning we made signs and chatted with J. Miakoda Taylor, founder and director of Fierce Allies, and her father. There were thousands of children, elders, parents, sisters, brothers, and cousins. In this struggle, when we all breathe the same air and are all dealing with the same water and land, we’re all family.
The numbers exceeded expectations—at last check, 350.org was reporting 310,000 folks in attendance. That’s the kind of turnout we need if we’re going to stop the greenhouse gas effect and have effective climate solutions. One of my biggest takeaways from the March was that we’re all in this together, and sometimes we need to see that. It was important for me to see the Meatless Monday folks marching behind the Aztec dancers, who were marching behind a large group of families, who were marching behind the Solutions Project and a group of celebrities. (At one point, Sting, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo formed a block and were marching together. It was quite a sight!) All of us need to take responsibility for fixing this problem, and never before have I had such a visceral understanding of what “all of us” looks like.
And now, what’s most important is that we take this momentum and create actual solutions. There are hundreds of organizations who have been working on this issue day in and day out, and if the People’s Climate March inspired you, find an issue and a solution that appeals to you, and let’s get to work.
This fall at Green For All, we’re focusing on building climate resiliency in our neighborhoods throughout the country through churches and community centers; we’re influencing ways the collaborative economy can provide opportunities for vulnerable populations while increasing environmental sustainability; we’re continuing to lead the way toward an equitable, green economy for all. Find out more at www.greenforall.org.
Congratulations to 350.org, Aavaz, and all the other organizations that provided support for this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime climate action. For all of you who were there, thank you for marching with my family and me. To everyone else, I hope you join us. We need everyone in this fight.
