Taking A Stand for Creation, People, and Whales

Dr. King’s prophetic speech, Beyond Vietnam:  A Time to Break Silence, delivered on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New York, exactly one year before his death, should be a clarion call that resonates profoundly with environmentalists. It was an anti-Vietnam War and pro-social justice speech in which Dr. King stated: “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. ... We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”  Many of the hindrances and obstacles to justice work can be attributed to the hierarchical power structures steeped in a wealth-based economy combined with patriarchy which are systemically rooted and grounded in white supremacy. If only they would connect the dots of the intersectionality of race, materialism, and militarism and integrate a human-based conservation ethic, Environmentalists committed to such important issues as climate change, ocean conservation, shorebird migration, or air and water pollution could seize this opportunity as a way to precipitate broader impacts in their overall work. The priceonomics of the U.S. industrial complexes (military, prison, or food) exert the same force on the now endangered North Atlantic right whales, and also Black lives for that matter. The murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia by an extralegal vigilante white father-son murdering squad is the same mindset that illegally sets industrial fishing lines into the ocean depths and traps and kills innocent endangered whales. At King’s Bay Naval Base where the U.S. Department of Defense produces and tests the Trident nuclear submarine, climate change, sonar testing in Georgia’s coastal waters as well as the leakage all threaten the lives of whales and people, particularly people of color and people in low-wealth communities in Camden and surrounding coastal counties. As a person of faith, I believe it is time to take bold and just action against nuclear weapons. I hold fast to the tenets of Interfaith Power & Light:

Because we embrace faith and spirituality, we are grounded in the interconnectedness of the sacred, the natural world, and one another.Because we embrace justice, we act with inclusion and respect, working in solidarity with vulnerable and marginalized communities.Because we embrace hope, we are empowered to live into our vision for the world for present and future generations.Because we embrace courage, we speak with a prophetic voice to create equity and restore wholeness to all.Because love is central to who we are, we are committed to ending the suffering caused by climate change.We live this out byInspiring and engaging individuals, families, and faith and local communities to embody spiritual and societal transformation by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions while building a new relationship with Earth.Mobilizing people of faith and conscience to advocate for just and equitable climate solutions at the local, state, and national levels.Working collaboratively with the IPL national network, diverse partner organizations, and marginalized communities.Modeling shared leadership and decision-making within our organization and our partnerships.Focusing on our common values, broadly communicating the moral obligation to address the urgency of global warming.

This past weekend, Nuclear Watch South and Beyond Trident teamed up with Susie King Taylor Women’s Ecology Institute and the Black Coastal Women’s Ocean Memory and Conservation Collective to hold a peace vigil at the gates of the Kings Bay Trident nuclear submarine base in St. Marys, Georgia, celebrating the entry into force of international law of the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to draw attention to the little known fact that 25% of the U.S. nuclear arsenal is deployed from the coast of Georgia.  The eco-groups also celebrated the presence of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales in Georgia's coastal waters during their annual calving season with a waterside ceremony led by Whale Whisperer Michaela Harrison.  Click here to learn more about the event.About the Author:Hermina Glass-Hill, MHP is a Creation Care steward, scholar activist, writer, and grassroots organizer in Coastal Georgia. She serves as GIPL’s Coastal Engagement Associate, working with Georgia coastal faith communities to assist with greening their worship practices.  She is the founder of the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute and Ecology Center, a nonprofit organization that links the history of chattel slavery to ecological destruction and promotes environmental education. Hermina studied at Spelman College and Georgia State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a concentration in African American Studies and Environmental Justice and a Master of Arts in Heritage Preservation. Learn more about Hermina.