At the September 23 Climate Change Rally on the National Mall, ONE DC organizer Jennifer Bryant spoke of the lack of sustainability of current economic policies -- both to the global climate and the people of Washington, DC:
In our work organizing long-time DC residents of color I've gotten to see first-hand the effects of gentrification. Washington, DC's unsustainable system of destructive development uproots families and displaces entire Black and Brown communities.
Climate change and gentrification have a lot in common. As we fight in DC to save communities like Barry Farms, Brookland Manor, Mount Vernon Plaza, Museum Square and so many others we recognize that what we are fighting is not just greedy developers and the local politicians that they've bought. We're fighting an entire system that is harmful and unsustainable. The fight for equitable development in DC and the fight to save the planet from climate change are the same fight. At the root of both struggles is an acknowledgment that our current global economic system is destructive and must be transformed.
The earth is not for sale, just like our communities are not for sale. We have to bring to an end the privatization and devastation of resources that should be shared among all people. We believe that this transformation will emerge from the place that all great movements have emerged: the grassroots. ONE DC will continue to build grassroots power and grassroots leadership in communities that are on the front lines of these struggles. And we'll continue to connect local issues of housing and jobs to the climate justice movement.