*Definitions
BIPOC: Within the US and Canadian context, the term “Black, Indigenous and People of Colour” originated to acknowledge that not all People of Colour face the same levels of injustice.5
Environmental inequality: “refers to a situation in which a specific social group is disproportionately affected by environmental hazards”2
Environmental justice: “the principle that all people and communities are entitled to equal protection of environmental and public health laws and regulations”2
Institutionalized or systemic racism: this type of racism originates in the operation of established and respected forces in society. When racist attitudes permeate the society on both the individual and institutional level, covertly and overtly, the society either pretends it does not know of racial injustices, or is incapable of doing anything meaningful about them. Institutionalized racism unfortunately receives far less public condemnation than overt racism.4
1. Johnson, A. I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet. June 3rd 2020. The Washington Post. Accessed June 15th 2020.
2. Brulle, R. J. & Pellow D. N. (2006). Environmental Justice: Human Health and Environmental Inequalities. Annu. Rev. Public Health. 27:103–24 https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102124
3. Pearson, A. R. & Schuldt, J. P. (2014). Facing the diversity crisis in climate science. Nature Climate Change. 4:1039-1042 http://research.pomona.edu/sci/files/2014/11/PearsonSchuldt2014NCC.pdf
4. Ture, K. & Hamilton C.V (1967). Black power : the politics of liberation in America. New York : Random House. ISBN: 978-0-307-79527-4. https://mygaryislike.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/black-power-kwame-ture-and-charles-hamilton.pdf
5. [What is BIPOC?] (n.d.) The Sunrise Movement. Accessed 24 June 2020. Retrieved from https://www.sunrisemovement.org/bipoc-gnd-crash-course