Announcing The POWER TOGETHER Campaign & September Rebellion
We’ve been through a lot this year. A pandemic. The awakening of our society to a long and painful legacy of racial injustice and police brutality. Yet another hottest year on record as the climate and ecological emergency unfolds around us. At the heart of these converging crises is a simple and unsavory truth: our current system of government continually fails to keep us safe.
People are already dying from oppressive heat and will continue to die this fall as we enter what is predicted to be the worst storm season on record. Heat waves, which will increase each summer as climate change worsens, disproportionately affect communities of color. In New York City, fifty percent of those who die from heat waves will be black, even though black people only make up twenty-six percent of New Yorkers.
To address the converging crises of climate, racial justice, and democracy, we’re launching our Power Together campaign to compel the New York City Council to create a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
READ XR NYC’S POWER TOGETHER STRATEGY >>
As part of this campaign, we’ll be coalition building with a wide spectrum of organizations that are calling for community control. A Citizens’ Assembly in New York City will set an example for cities across the nation and set a precedent for the country as we build power together, leveraging deliberative democracy to return the power of decision making to our communities. Check out our new animated video on Citizens’ Assemblies for more on how our third demand gives everyday people the right to choose the future we need.
To show the government that we’re serious about demanding a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice, we’ll be joining rebels from across the country and the world in a September Rebellion.
In short, 2020 isn’t over yet. And even though we’ve seen catastrophe after catastrophe in the last few months, we’ve also witnessed the resilience and the drive that comes from communities banding together and saying ENOUGH. We’ve seen it in the protests sparked by the horrific murder of George Floyd, and in the protests that continued day after day, calling for community control and an end to the unjust and discriminatory policing afflicting communities of color. We’ve seen it in the mutual aid networks we started for our neighbors, and in the mass donations of PPE to hospitals in need. We’ve seen it when we gathered outside City Hall to commemorate the birthday of the climate emergency declaration, and in the numerous op-eds and articles fighting against society’s tendency to sweep the climate crisis under the rug -- reminding us that this pandemic is a symptom of our relationship with nature, and that more will come if we don’t address the root causes. All of this — speaking out, coming together, creating our own change — this is the power of community. Extinction Rebellion NYC is dedicating the rest of 2020 (and beyond) to harnessing that shared strength. Together, we have the power to build the future we want to see.