Like you, I feel uneasy because of what we had to bear witness to at the U.S. Capitol and at our own Capitol complex in Olympia earlier this month. While the lopsided response to a predominantly white, antisemitic, right-wing attack wasn’t surprising for so many of us Native, Black, immigrant, Latinx, queer people, or people with disabilities who experience harsher police responses, it was still traumatic for us all. So we cannot let this moment pass without holding those accountable for sowing doubt about our elections and instigating violence and insurrection. 

What happened on January 6 revealed that the climate crisis is deeply intertwined with the crisis of our democracy and white supremacy. Within the spaces where Washington Environmental Council / Washington Conservation Voters has influence — in our organization, in the movements we support, in our communities, and in Olympia — we will continue to root out and condemn all forms of white supremacy, which includes an ideology that faults the demise of the environment exclusively on immigration, overpopulation, and the marginalized.

Long unaddressed white supremacy and structural racism in our country must be dismantled through truth and reconciliation, which must occur today, tomorrow, and every day after that until we see each other as equal parts of the whole — restoring connections to ourselves, between people, and to the land.

Together, we decide the next chapter of our American story. Not these cowards, not these racists, and not these violent bullies. We do. So we can’t let calls for unity silence justice and accountability.

We have a lot of work before us in the 2021 legislative session to root out white supremacy and fight to protect and preserve Washington’s environment.

In gratitude,

Alyssa Macy, CEO