St. Paul, MN – The Climate Justice Committee organized an action to protest Joe Biden’s climate proposal on August 18, as Committee members and climate activists gathered outside the Governor’s Mansion here, demanding Governor Walz re-file the state’s appeal of the decision to allow the Line 3 oil pipeline to be rebuilt and expanded. The new pipeline would be an environmental disaster and violates federal agreements with indigenous governments.
Minneapolis, MN – While the Democratic National Convention will take place virtually in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from August 17 to 20, activists from Minnesota’s Climate Justice Committee and others are planning their own action targeting the DNC. Protesters are planning to picket the Minnesota Governor’s Mansion to send a message to superdelegates that they want climate justice faster than the Democratic nominee’s environmental plan.
Milwaukee, WI – On July 16, Northside Rising held a rally seeking divestment from WE Energies (also known as Wisconsin Electric), a waiver of their planned moratorium on energy assistance, and investment in green, net-zero carbon jobs that are not monopolized by the company. Investing more in a climate justice plan, as well as a solution to the depletion of job opportunity for Milwaukee’s Northside, would be a step in the right direction for the city’s Black residents.
Milwaukee, WI – Several hundred people gathered on the morning of December 6 in downtown Milwaukee at Zeidler Park to demand that the big banks like Wells Fargo, Chase and other corporations divest from the fossil fuel industry.
St. Paul, MN – More than 8000 students, youth and their supporters marched to the State Capitol, September 20, joining the global Youth Climate Strike. As the protest poured onto the capitol grounds, they chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho, climate change has got to go,” and “There is no planet B!” They joined millions from around the world.
Milwaukee, WI – On the morning of September 20, more than 500 people gathered and marched in downtown Milwaukee to defend the planet. The crowd included a wide variety of people from all different backgrounds and of all different ages. The leaders were young, Black, and predominantly women.
Houston, TX – In late August, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and it caused untold destruction upon the city. Entire neighborhoods were submerged in water, hundreds of people lost their cars to flooding, and there were over three dozen deaths. The city's response was not very good; the well-off middle-class communities received immediate aid, but the working class and predominantly Black and Chicano/Mexicano neighborhoods received little assistance. In Houston's Sunnyside, for example, a predominantly Black neighborhood, there were nearly no FEMA responders and large rescue teams.
Fort Lauderdale, FL- As millions of people in South Florida nervously await the unwelcome arrival of massive Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic storm ever recorded, shelters are beginning to fill and store shelves are beginning to empty. Flocks of Floridians, from Key West to Fort Lauderdale, are gathering their belongings and loved ones and leaving town. Some are headed to shelters further north and inland, while others are hopping on plane flights to other states.