Equitable Futures

So why, despite everything, should you still care about your responsibility in the climate crisis? 

At this point, the extent of the climate crisis is beyond personal responsibility, but we should still lean into our individual power. Within your own life, what can you do to create an equitable and sustainable future? Our society is structured in a way that we have no choice but to consume--but we do have a choice in what we consume and how often we do. Conscious consumption can include purchasing from businesses that provide fair wages to all employees, using items that are reusable or biodegradable, reducing overall consumption of single-use plastics, and protesting the greenwashing practices of corporations. If we demand as consumers, they must change as producers. There is power in knowledge and an even greater power in doing something about it. Change towards equity will come from collective action. 

Make sustainable, equitable living the norm rather than an alternative. While recycling and anti-litter campaigns were created by corporations reliant on single-use plastics, we can still reuse and recycle these products while advocating for the reduction of this type of waste. Use fuel efficient cars and reduce single passenger car rides while also supporting expanded public transportation and accessible city planning. Taking sustainable steps is not an aesthetic or a fad; it is the only option for our future. It is also not a time to take an elitist, moral-high ground. We acknowledge that for some folks, these changes are not even an option. Conscious consumerism is a privilege. More often than not, the folks that do not have the access to sustainable efforts are the ones more negatively affected by climate injustice. But if you have the resources to do so, you should take steps towards a sustainable life. The best approach to alleviating climate injustice is one centered on mutual aid, an approach that centers on cooperation and community action. Ask the folks in your community how your time and resources can best assist them, seek out mutual aid groups in your community to support, and use your privilege to safely advocate for climate justice.

We need environmental justice.  We are beyond the time for asking if climate change really exists - we are living in a climate crisis right now. We cannot see ourselves as separate from nature or from one another. Solving this environmental catastrophe would mean uplifting impoverished communities and Black and Brown folks across the globe through education, clean energy, food, water, housing, and creating a stable, equitable ecosystem for every living thing on this Earth. Environmental justice will come from a liberation from environmental racism. There are steps that can be taken to prevent a worsening destruction of our planet, but it requires the will to do it. It requires valuing life over capital. It requires taking responsibility and creating equity. It requires that everyone, but most importantly corporate and government leaders, take action right now, because our lives and our futures depend on immediate action.

Where you brought me, Alexis Claire Alexandre

This portrait is an homage to Alexis Pauline Gumbs based in Durham NC. In her own words Alexis is, “a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings.”

The background canvas is dyed with goldenrod Claire harvested this past summer on Mcbane Mill Road, her home. Alexis’s crown is made up of a white Ibis bird, a starfish, a sea urchin, a branch of hibiscus (also called Roselle); all beings of the treasured borderlands, the in-betweens, and the ever changing horizons that are coastal ecosystems. The portrait is framed by branches of dried wood gathered on land stewarded by Claire’s family.

Alexis gazes forward with a knowing smile as she listens to the whispers only conch shells know how to conjure. Her portrait is outlined by a spiral of swimming blue whales over sunsetting clouds. Slowly they morph towards dancing human forms. This portrait is a reminder that we come from the deep - we are made up of an exponential number of beings whose wisdom, songs, trauma all swirl in our bloodstreams, freckles and curls. 

Alexis connects Claire to her Caribbean heritage, of which she knows little informationally- but of which she has always known spiritually. She has guided Claire to understand the power of her permanent status as ‘other’ and embrace the unfinished stories blooming from the scattered places around the globe that she and her ancestors have called home through time. From West Africa, to Ireland, to France, to Guadeloupe, to North Carolina, and so on. All connected by their disconnection. All connected by water. All connected by Claire. Through Alexis’ writing, Claire has learned that everything, every other, is a teacher and holds secrets shared as answers if one simply knows how to listen.

Buddy System (sign) and NC Hurricane Guide Chloe Crawford

Buddy System (Sign) is a site-specific piece from Chloe’s thesis at Mason Gross School of the Arts - Rutgers University, based on the school’s emergency evacuation procedures. In the school’s policy for the “Evacuation of Individuals with Physical Disabilities,” they provide guidance for what they call the Buddy System: “During the first week of classes or employment, make acquaintances with fellow students, residents, class members, or office workers. Inform them of any special assistance that may be required in the event of a fire alarm.” When Buddy System (Sign) is installed in the stairwell of a building, it alerts stair-using evacuees to her non-abulatory presence in the building, and makes them all her “buddies.”

NC Hurricane Guide brings the hurricane evacuation advice for disabled North Carolinians, found on the back of the official state guide, to the forefront, and  integrates the advice for the ostensibly non-disabled residents. More advice is also added based on reporting in The Storm After the Storm: Disaster, Displacement, and Disability Following Hurricane Florence, by Disability Rights North Carolina.

Image Description: Black acrylic sign with a white arrow pointing to the left, used in Rutgers University’s Civic Square Building for way-finding and signifying emergency information such as fire-rated stairwells. Screen-printed with light gray text reading: I am on this floor right now. In case of fire or other emergency I will attempt to seek refuge. As you exit, please let emergency personnel know I am in here. Your buddy, Chloe

On left side is the cover page for the North Carolina Hurricane Guide. Title text is over an image of dark storm clouds. At bottom, logos for Department of Public Safety, Ready NC, and North Carolina Emergency Management. On right side is a page from the guide titled Evacuate/Shelter Safely. Text reads: Monitor ReadyNC.org for the latest information. If you are asked to evacuate, promptly heed instructions from local officials. 

• Know your evacuation destination and be aware of available shelters. Not all shelters are accessible for people with disabilities, so be prepared to go to several shelters and/or be separated from your friends and family members. Notify family and friends of your plans. 

• If you undergo routine treatments at a clinic or at home, talk to your provider about their emergency plans. Work with them to identify back-up service providers to where you might evacuate (oxygen delivery, dialysis, home health care).

• If there is time to do so safely, turn off gas, electricity and water. Unplug appliances before leaving.

• Take your emergency supply kit with you. Bring extra cash, medications and important documents when you evacuate. Paper documents can easily become misplaced or damaged during a disaster, put them into a digital format for safekeeping and quicker movement.

• Remember, specialty items (infant formula, diapers, specific dietary food, durable medical equipment and some medical supplies including batteries for hearing aids and other assistive devices, extra oxygen tanks, electrical backups for medical equipment) may not be available at emergency shelters. Put your name and contact information on your equipment in case it becomes separated during evacuation and sheltering.

• Not all shelters are pet friendly, so double check before bringing your non-service animal. Bring extra food and water for your service animal.

• Keep your cell phone charged and calls brief to minimize network congestions.

• After the storm, be patient and listen to local officials for instructions on returning home. Reentry into communities may be initially limited to first responders and non-disabled residents.

Image Description: Illustration at bottom is of ISO style graphics of a person in a powerchair and a person of short-stature holding a leash connected to a harnessed dog, in front of a flight of stairs with a sign reading “Hurricane Evacuation Route” on them.

Legends Breathe: Fairy Tales & Legends Breathe: Water Mythologies Allison Maria Rodriguez

Legends Breathe (an ongoing project) explores the power of creativity and the imagination in overcoming traumatic experiences. Based on interviews with different female-identified and non-binary artists about childhood fantasies that assisted them in overcoming trauma or extreme circumstances, this project speaks to a strategy and methodology of survival activated through the power of creativity. Each video, which are often installed together as an interactive installation, explores these individual fantasies, highlighting their uniqueness, their commonalities, and their inherent power. One primary element evident in all the fantasies is a harvesting of strength and transcendence through a deep connection to the natural world. The work is populated by endangered species and threatened habitats, conveying a link between the trauma and healing of our planet to that of the individual.

NAVIGATION

Home // Environmental Racism in NC // Carbon and Corporate Responsibility // Current Trajectory

North Carolina Introduction // Coastal Plains // Piedmont // Mountains

Equitable Futures // Exquisite Corpse // Postcards