Current and Local Events

Train Derailment and Honoring Manuel Esteban Páez Terán

1. On February 3rd, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing toxic and carcinogenic chemicals into the air, water, and soil. We support WeAct's statement on the incident and their call for accountability and future mitigation of EJ disasters: https://www.weact.org/2023/02/we-act-calls-for-improved-railroad-and-chemical-safety-in-wake-of-ohio-train-derailment/

2. In Atlanta, forest defender Manuel Páez Terán (aka Tortuguita) was killed while protecting a forest in Atlanta where police want to build a training center. Do cities need more trees or more policing? ATL’s forest defenders are taking a stand against the destruction. Support the protest and find out more here: https://350.org/dispatch-from-the-movement-to-stopcopcity-in-atlanta/

LandBack Movement

LANDBACK has existed for generations through a long-lasting struggle of organizing to have Indigenous Lands back into Indigenous hands. The current LANDBACK battles across Turtle Island (now known as North and Central America) deepen relationships across organizing movements toward true collective liberation. As a political, organizing, and narrative framework, LANDBACK ascertains a world in which Black, Indigenous, & POC liberation co-exist. More info here: https://landback.org/

Check out the first city in California to give land back: https://open.spotify.com/episode/12MRVPJqkTJUKWuVloPzSC?si=cf4c4caebc114586&nd=1

Find out whose land you’re on: https://native-land.ca

Local Events

1. 4/4: The online symposium Ethically Bound and Justice Driven: Social Workers Respond to the Climate Crisis is both inspiring and free to students. https://www.adelphi.edu/events/ethically-bound-and-justice-driven-social-workers-respond-to-the-climate-crisis/

2. 4/11 & 4/12: Learn the vital skills of wilderness first aid here on Columbia’s campus. https://www.climate.columbia.edu/events/wilderness-first-aid-training

3. 4/22 & 4/23: For Earth Day (and beyond), sign up for local events ranging from Bee-A-Pollinator Earth Day Service Day to Earth Day Garden Tour Bike Ride. https://www.eventbrite.com/d/ny--new-york/earth-day-events/

Until 11/19: Check out the Brooklyn Museum’s remarkable exhibition Climate in Crisis: Environmental Change in the Indigenous Americas. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/climate_in_crisis