Wretched of the Earth

Wretched of the Earth is an activist coalition based in the United Kingdom, representing the interests of the Global South and people of color in response to climate change. They seek to challenge environmental organizations by asking groups like Extinction Rebellion to think critically about class, capitalism, and use of activist tactics that draw risk to people of color.

Activist Work 
The organization's demands include universal health care, the right to free education, corporate accountability, and demilitarization. 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.

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 by organizers of the event March organizers saw the group's focus on ant-imperialism as too political. The group responded with an open letter to the march's organizers, highlighting the repetition of colonialism in suppressing indigenous and people of color voices.

Wretched of the Earth issued an open letter in May 2019 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 priviledge. 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. Taking a decolonial perspective on climate justice, the organization states that environmental issues described as a current climate crises date back to 1492, when European settlers landed in the Americas.

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.

References 

Category:Environmental protests in the United Kingdom
Category:2019 protests
Category:2015 protests
Category:Decolonisation
Category:Social movements