Author: Adam Roberts, Executive Director of Bethesda Green
On behalf of the Bethesda Green team I want to make one clear statement: Black Lives Matter. We were still reeling from the shock of Ahmaud Abery’s murder before learning of the horror of Breonna Taylor’s and then witnessing another tragic injustice with George Floyd’s, hearing his final words reflective of generations of racial injustice. There have been too many names before theirs. The question is: how many names will follow before this brutality ends?
This morning I rode my bike down to the White House. When I moved to Washington, DC you could drive your car along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the President’s House. Then it was blocked off to automobile traffic; now, years later, it was cleared of protestors; a new extended barrier fence was erected; and today that fence is covered with Black Lives Matter and anti-racism signs. As I stood beside my bike to take a picture, a young black man on his bike near me commented on my ride. We spoke for a few minutes about cycling, biking Mount Kenya (I’ve done it twice), him getting used to the gear changes on his new bike, and then we bumped fists to say good bye and he said to me: “stay safe.”
That simple but poignant farewell has affected me deeply all day. This young black man is telling me to stay safe! In that brief moment, we weren’t black and white or young and old; we were just a couple of guys on bicycles at the same place at the same time being respectful and friendly. How hard is that?
For some, it’s apparently not only hard, but seemingly impossible.
Our team does the work we do for Bethesda and for environmental protection because we are driven by a compassionate mission to make the world a better place. In our day-to-day efforts, we are constantly reminded that the world is not in a good place: not when climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet; not when plastic pollution abounds; not when extractive and consumptive businesses outnumber sustainable, environmentally-friendly businesses.
But that’s our professional selves. Our personal selves – Marisa’s, Kim’s, Patty’s, mine – all have a broader sensitivity to various forms of injustice. We cry out against environmental injustice, but we also cry out against racial injustice, health care inequities, pay gaps, animal cruelty, and so much more.
We can’t talk about protecting the planet if we don’t care about all of the people who inhabit the planet. We can no more turn a blind eye to the incredible sorrow and pain existing in this country due to rampant racism and police brutality than we can to pollution.
Two words keep getting used when discussing racial injustice in America, especially over the past couple of weeks: “systemic” and “disproportionate”. There is systemic racism in America in 2020. People of color are disproportionately disadvantaged. Black-owned businesses disproportionately struggle, and black unemployment disproportionately dwarfs that of their white counterparts. Black families are disproportionately affected by coronavirus and suffer systemically poor health outcomes. Black communities are disproportionately impacted by destructive environmental protection and regulations.
It’s time to level the playing field once and for all. It’s time to replace systemic racism with systemic love. It’s time to look out for every inhabitant of our shared ecosystem.
For us, we’ll continue to support the growth of black-owned sustainability-focused businesses like DGrid Energy and Rendered, Inc. We’ll continue working to expand our environmental protection programs to communities of color. And we’ll promote some of the organizations listed below that Marisa has identified, which focus on the intersection between diversity and nature.
And, as with so many others at this pivotal moment in American history, we’ll actively look for additional ways to demonstrably reduce racism as we advance our organizational vision of a sustainable urban ecosystem – one that benefits us all, regardless of skin color.
Keep Bethesda Green, recognize that Black Lives Matter, and in the words of a kind stranger: “stay safe”.
Sincerely,
Adam
