Transcript:
Since joining the civil rights movement as a student in Tennessee more than 60 years ago, Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley has been fighting for racial justice.
And he says today, fighting climate change and fossil fuel pollution is a critical piece of that struggle.
Durley: “In order for us to really move ahead in civil rights … you’ve got to have an environment that is healthy and safe.”
But Black and Brown communities are more likely to be located near factories and power plants that burn fossil fuels. So they’re more at risk from air pollution that worsens asthma and other health problems.
And they’re disproportionately exposed to dangerous heat waves, floods, and other climate impacts.
So Durley says the civil rights and climate movements are linked.
Durley: “Both movements want the same thing: the quality of life.”
And he urges people to take action on climate change – with the same passion and determination that have propelled civil rights activists for decades.
Durley: “Now we organize, we strategize, and we mobilize. We come together across colors, across genders, across organizational lines for this effort. … When people believe in something strong enough, we will see change.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘568493883318626’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’, {“page_title”:”Civil rights leader links climate change to racial justice”,”user_role”:”guest”,”event_url”:”https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/06/civil-rights-leader-links-climate-change-to-racial-justice”,”post_type”:”post”,”post_id”:129755});
