The UK Black Lives Matter organisation has claimed that climate change is inherently racist, arguing that it affects black people much more adversely than any other race.
In Britain on Tuesday, members of Black Lives Matter UK chained themselves on the runway of London City Airport, causing flights to become diverted for several hours.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Pri.org reports:
It followed a similar demonstration on a road outside Heathrow, London’s largest airport, last month.
But while the activists at Heathrow emphasized police brutality, the group at City Airport wanted to highlight something else: climate change. A statement from the group said climate change has a disproportionate effect on people of color in the developing world. “Black people are the first to die, not the first to fly, in this racist climate crisis,” the group said.
Climate crisis is a racist crisis. Cut emissions. Open borders. #Shutdown. pic.twitter.com/IUOaeaTrmw
— #BlackLivesMatterUK (@ukblm) September 6, 2016
In videos released online, Black Lives Matter UK has also drawn attention to the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. They argue that this is another area where black people are disproportionately victimized by Western governments.
Joseph Harker, the Guardian’s deputy opinion editor and a former editor of the Black Briton newspaper, isn’t surprised that BLM has grown in Britain. “It has been such a successful movement in the States … so it’s natural that its success has led people to want to reproduce that,” Harker said.
He sees parallels between the black British experience and the situation for African Americans, particularly when it comes to racism. But he believes there are essential differences. “The backdrop in Britain is very similar — the black population in Britain is traditionally a Caribbean population, which was also enslaved for generations,” he says. “But there’s not the same levels of shootings of unarmed people. So it’s more difficult to get that same level of engagement in Britain.”
Harker also questions whether a new environmental or migration agenda will resonate with the wider black community in the UK. “If you asked a hundred black British people what their top 10 issues are in terms of racism and discrimination in Britain, environment and climate change will come very low on the list — if at all,” he says.
The UK is the biggest per-capita contributor to temperature change & among the least vulnerable to its affects. pic.twitter.com/Bb5SmKWyt6
— #BlackLivesMatterUK (@ukblm) September 6, 2016
Critics of Black Lives Matter UK have also noted that most of the activists involved in the runway protest appear to be white. The group has posted a series of tweets that appear to respond to this.
“UKBLM is and always has been black led,” said one. “Today’s protest is an example of white allyship under black leadership,” said another.
“There’s a need for white people to take responsibility in a society that privileges them through racism and anti-black racism in particular.”
Sean Adl-Tabatabai
Latest posts by Sean Adl-Tabatabai (see all)
- British Gov’t Urged To Censor ‘Conspiracy Theories’ About Kate Middleton - March 27, 2024
- California To Begin Putting Male Rapists Into Women’s Prisons: “Gender Is a Social Construct” - March 27, 2024
- UN Chief Antonio Guterres Demands Slavery Reparations for All Black People in America - March 27, 2024
Seriously!!! What a load of shite!!! When are they gonna get over this white privilges rubbish? We have no more priviliges then they do. Where’s the mention of the white irish slaves that were sold alongside the black slaves? Oh yeah, they don’t teach that in schools cos they can’t use that to incite racism!