Wretched of the Earth
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| Formation | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | United Kingdom |
| Type | Coalition |
| Purpose | Climate change mitigation Migrant Justice |
Wretched of the Earth is a coalition of climate justice groups led by Indigenous people and people of colour[1] based in the United Kingdom,[2] representing the interests of the Global South and people of color in response to climate change.[3] The organisation's name is based on Frantz Fanon's book on anti-colonial theory, The Wretched of the Earth.[4] The group seeks to challenge environmental organisations by asking groups like Extinction Rebellion to think critically about class, capitalism, and use of activist tactics that draw risk to people of color.[5][6]
The organisation's demands include universal health care, the right to free education, corporate accountability, and demilitarization.[7] Coalition members include Black Lives Matter UK, Migrants Rights Network, Peoples Climate Network, Algeria Solidarity Campaign, Argentina Solidarity Campaign, Black Dissidents, Colombia Solidarity Campaign, Environmental Justice North Africa, Global Afrikan People’s Parliament, Global Justice Forum, Indigenous Environmental Network, Kilombo U.K, London Mexico Solidarity, Movimiento Ecuador Reino Unido (MERU), Movimiento Jaguar Despierto, PARCOE, The London Latinxs, South Asia Solidarity Group, Science for the People, and This Changes Everything UK.[8][9][10]
In 2015, Wretched of the Earth was removed from its previously designated position at the front of London's People’s Climate March of Justice and Jobs[11] by organisers of the event[10] March organisers saw the group's focus on anti-imperialism as too political.[12] The group responded with an open letter to the group's organisers expressing hurt that they were made to remove signs stating that ‘British Imperialism causes climate injustice’.The open letter highlighted the repetition of colonialism in suppressing indigenous and people of color voices.[8]
Wretched of the Earth issued an open letter in May 2019[9] asking Extinction Rebellion to reconsider strategies that would be harmful to black, brown, and indigenous activists and to rethink the way its activist tactics build on white privilege.[13][5][14] This open letter posits that efforts to combat climate change will be meaningless unless they include and build on the experiences of people of color.[15] Taking a decolonial perspective on climate justice,[16] the organization states that environmental issues described as a current climate crises date back to 1492, when European settlers landed in the Americas.[7]
The collective took part in a September 2019 march as part of the Global Climate Strike, calling for use of indigenous knowledge and experience in fighting climate change, and making a case for aligning the migrant justice movement with the climate justice movement.[17]
Political objectives
The group's concrete political demands include: "implementing a just transition, holding corporations accountable, ending militarism, definancializing nature, replacing borders with radical hospitality, and guaranteeing universal health care, free education, healthy food, and adequate income for all".[4] In a publicised message of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, the group aligned itself with political objectives such as defunding the police in favour of investing in community-led solutions and banning polluting industries. The group argues that "the Global North must pay its fair share of ecological and climate debt to keep below the 1.5 degree guardrail" including "a massive transfer in technology for climate adaptation". The group also argues for an external debt jubilee.[18]