Trees clean the air we breathe, filter our water, provide us shade from the sun, and shelter for animals. We need them. But from police to local governments, environmental racism has gutted our access to trees, putting us all at risk.
Federal officials redlined Black neighborhoods in the 1930s, restricting access to credit, healthcare, and loans. White neighborhoods then received access to parks, sidewalks lined with trees, and more green space.
Black neighborhoods were left with sparse trees, heat-radiating pavement, and warehouse construction.
Police officers have also pruned and stunted tree growth in certain neighborhoods, claiming they could stash drugs and guns, or obstruct the view of surveillance cameras and helicopters. They coaxed communities into conflating fewer trees with safety.
There are so many other examples of this in history and now, from a New Jersey township cutting trees to keep unhoused people from sitting in the shade, to NBCUniversal trimming trees as writers and actors picketed in extreme heat.
Whether we’re demanding our rights or simply existing while Black, no person or institution should ever have the power to deny us what we need to survive.
Get inspired to act. Just as they use their power to abuse, we can use our power to fight back.