The following is a statement that Sierra Club BC sent out to our supporters in the midst of intensifying racial violence in the US. Beyond this statement of solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the Movement for Black Liberation, we are committed to aligning our values, internal structure and ways of working to support justice, solidarity and liberation for all.  

Sierra Club BC is devastated by the death of George Floyd, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Breonna Taylor and other taken Black lives. We stand with Black Lives Matter and the Movement for Black Liberation.

At this time, we are asking our Sierra Club BC family to join us in the struggle against racial oppression, which is a part of our work on environmental justice. We are requesting our supporters lift up Black voices whenever possible, as well as to spend time examining Canada’s long history of systematic oppression of Black, Indigenous and other people of colour.

While our work as an organization is primarily focused on addressing the climate and ecological crises which are a threat to millions of species and the web of life that sustains us all, we understand that these struggles are connected to one another. Ecological degradation is intrinsically linked with racial injustice and colonial oppression, and this historical and ongoing oppression is what causes communities of colour to feel the hardest impacts of the climate crisis.

As an organization, we are committed to addressing the racism and biases within ourselves, changing ourselves and doing the work necessary to ensure BIPOC  (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) voices are listened to and respected in the environmental movement.