350.org's May Boeve on Poor People’s Campaign Arrest: “There Is No Climate Justice if the Poor Are Left Behind”
WASHINGTON - Today, movement leaders rallied in the nation’s capital to engage in nonviolent direct action with the Poor People’s Campaign, a national call for a moral revival demanding a shift in the way we think about poverty, racism, ecological devastation, and the war economy. Hundreds of people were arrested, including 350.org’s Executive Director May Boeve.
As she was arrested, Boeve issued the following statement:
“Today, I risked arrest with the Poor People’s Campaign because there is no climate justice if the poor are left behind. Building the fossil free world that works for all of us requires coming together across our differences to demand bold and necessary change. 350.org stands with poor people across America, and around the world. We need a fast and just transition for the poorest and most impacted by climate change and the fossil fuel economy. Together, we will make sure it’s fossil fuel billionaires, not our communities, who bear the costs of climate change’s destruction.”
The Poor People’s Campaign action took place as dozens of communities across the U.S. rallied at City Halls and public spaces to introduce local resolutions and engage with elected officials. Fossil Free organizers are demanding local officials commit to a just and equitable transition to a fossil Free world with: (1) 100% renewable energy for all; (2) no new fossil fuel projects; and (3) not a penny more for dirty energy. Communities across the U.S. will mobilize around the Poor People’s Campaign Ecological Devastation week of action happening the first week of June.
Tonight, climate and environmental movement leaders -- including Antonia Juhasz, Pennie Opal Plant, Gloria Ushigua Santi, Juan Flores and Bill McKibben -- will hold a discussion on how California can be a global model for the fast and just transition from a major oil-producer to a 100% renewable energy economy.
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350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth. But solutions exist. All around the world, a movement is building to take on the climate crisis, to get humanity out of the danger zone and below 350. This movement is massive, it is diverse, and it is visionary. We are activists, scholars, and scientists. We are leaders in our businesses, our churches, our governments, and our schools. We are clean energy advocates, forward-thinking politicians, and fearless revolutionaries. And we are united around the world, driven to make our planet livable for all who come after us.
