Campaign highlights the central role of black women in the fight for climate justice and is part of the movements’ calendar of struggles up to December
On 5 November, the Ecumenical Coordination of Service (Coordenadoria Ecumênica de Serviço: CESE) will launch the campaign “Nothing about the climate without black women” which aims to increase dialogue with the general public about the relevance and legitimacy of civil society organizations and black women’s movements in the defence of rights, democracy, and socio-environmental and climate justice.
Launched as part of the Giving for Change Programme, the campaign focuses on the unequal effects of climate change on certain social groups and reinforces the central role of black women in activities that confront environmental racism and protect traditional territories and ways of life.
“Throughout our work, we have seen how essential black women are to resistance and to the defence of the right to land, water, housing and dignity. Despite inequalities, it is these women who construct new ways of living, producing and caring for the territories. This campaign acknowledges them and raises their voices,” said Sônia Mota, CESE’s Executive Director.
Black women at the centre of climate justice
With the increased social and environmental crises, CESE understands that it is no longer possible to think about climate justice without thinking about race and gender inequalities. Black women – historically those most affected by the absence of public policies and the consequences of the predatory development model – are also on the frontline of solutions, coordinating resistance in their territories, the cities, the waters, the forests and the fields.
The campaign provides a counterpoint to hegemonic narratives, which normally render such experiences invisible, instead evidencing the leadership, knowledge and forms of organization that grow out of these territories. The activity underlines CESE’s commitment to strengthening black women’s movements and to talking to the public about the urgent need for transformations that unite climate justice, racial justice and gender equality.
Activities planned until December
Between October and December, the campaign will occupy both the digital environment and public spaces with a series of mobilization activities:
Posts and videos on CESE’s social media;
A podcast web series, produced in partnership with Le Monde Diplomatique Brasil, called “Black Women on the Move: against racism, for reparations and good living”;
Campaign phrases and messages will be projected in urban spaces within state capitals such as Brasilia and São Paulo, highlighting black women’s central role in debates about the climate and democracy.
A campaign in tune with the movements
The month of November is also the month of the Black Women’s March, when the country focuses on acknowledging the strength of these women and their historical struggles for justice, reparations and good living. The campaign launch is connected to the calendar of struggles of the black women’s movements, which this year are returning to the march in Brasilia, reasserting their political presence and the defence of Good Living.
This alignment with the movements reinforces the collective and participatory nature of the campaign, which grew out of dialogue with organizations in the Giving for Change Programme’s Community of Practice (LINK) in the Northeast of Brazil.
“The campaign is about more than communications: it is a political act, constructed with and for black women. It is a call for the public to recognize that there are no solutions for the climate without confronting racism or guaranteeing these women’s effective participation in decision-making arenas,” Sônia Mota declared.
The campaign “Nothing about the climate without black women” is supported by Giving for Change and underlines CESE’s commitment to strengthening civil society, the defence of human rights and the promotion of socio-environmental justice.
