Last week, Earthworks made donations to six organizations who are fighting white supremacy and advancing reproductive, immigrant, Indigenous, and environmental justice.
Descriptions of these organizations are below, along with the Earthworks staff who nominated each of them. Our financial contributions are part of our commitment to dismantle white supremacy, patriarchy, transphobia, and other systems of oppression both internally and externally. This is the second year Earthworks has made donations to organizations doing antiracist work (you can find our 2020 blog here).
Our work protecting communities from the impacts of oil, gas, and hardrock mineral extraction is guided by the work of many Black, Indigenous, and scholars of color; this year we have been particularly informed by Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of intersectionality theory, and the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ), creator of the Jemez Principles.
Environmental and climate justice are only possible through the abolition of systems of oppression. The organizations we have donated to all contribute to building a better world as they dismantle the old one. We express our gratitude to these organizations for everything that they are doing and commit to act in solidarity with them as we attempt to do the same.
Abolitionist Law Center – Fight Toxic Prisons Campaign nominated by Anaïs Peterson
The ALC is a public interest law firm organizing for the end of race and class based mass incarceration. The ALC has ongoing campaigns to free political prisoners, fight toxic prisons and advocate against solitary confinement and death by incarceration (life without parole). The campaign to fight toxic prisons draws from both the abolitionist movement and the environmental justice movement. Low income and communities of color are those most often on the frontlines of the violence of pollution and incarceration. You can donate to the ALC’s Fight Toxic Prisons Campaign here.
O’odham Anti-Border Collective nominated by Brytnee Laurette
O’odham Anti-Border Collective is a grassroots collective of Akimel O’odham, Tohono O’odham and Hia Ced O’odham tribal members and descendants committed to the unification of all O’odham peoples, regeneration of O’odham himdag (traditions, spirituality, language and culture), and the protection of O’odham Jewed (homelands) through the dismantling of colonial borders. A member of the O’odham Anti-Border Collective, Amber Ortega, is facing trial for defending her ancestral homelands (Quitobaquito Spring) from border militarization. You can donate to the O’odham Anti-Border Collective through Paypal here – when you log in, you can find them at @antibordercollective.
Trans Asylum Seeker Support Network nominated by Brytnee Laurette
The Trans Asylum Seeker Support Network is a border abolitionist direct action and mutual aid collective. It focuses on supporting transgender asylum seekers crossing the border, getting out of detention, and securing housing, legal support, healthcare, and transportation. This organization provides comprehensive daily financial and material support, building thriving lives and communities, and winning asylum cases. You can donate to the Trans Asylum Seeker Support Network here.
Celina Indian Center supported families nominated by Anaïs Peterson
This past November the Celina Indian Center in Southwestern Ohio closed after 45 years of supporting local Indigenous families. The center was supporting 30 families in SWOH with meals and last year provided toys for 200 children for the holidays. Especially with the center closing, these families are in need of support this holiday season for meals and toys this year. You can donate to the Celina Indian Center through Heartbeat Gardens here with a note that the donation should be earmarked “WETU” (a Lakota word meaning ‘when life force flows’).
Another Gulf is Possible Collaborative nominated by Kaitlyn Joshua
The Another Gulf is Possible Collaborative is a woman-of-color-led grassroots collaborative that centers cultural organizing, arts-based healing, direct action, advocacy, transformative justice, education, and locally-led capacity-building training. They operate from Brownsville, Texas to Pensacola, Florida. You can donate to the Another Gulf is Possible Collaborative (via check) here.
Southern University Student Coalition nominated by Kaitlyn Joshua
The Southern University Student Coalition is Southern University’s Sierra Club chapter, and are also known as the 771 Alliance. They are led by Black and brown students and do mutual aid and disaster relief work throughout Louisiana. You can donate to the Southern University Student Coalition through @SUSC771 on Paypal here, or by sending a check to the Sierra Club Foundation at the linked address, please earmark the check for ‘Southern University Student Coalition.’
Long time abolitionist organizer and writer Mariame Kaba says everything worthwhile is done with other people. Fighting capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression means committing to work you didn’t see the beginning of and will not see the end of. It is not just important to work in collaboration with others but crucial to every aspect of these struggles. While we may not be collaborating on a day to day basis with these organizations, we share their commitment to a world free from injustice.
We invite you to stand in solidarity with them, through financial support, by learning about their work, and by joining their campaigns for justice.