#StrikeWithUs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2020
CONTACT: Dillon Bernard | media@strikewithus.org | (646) 948-3003
Over the last few months since the September 20 Climate Strike, young people and adults across the United States have been planning to take to the streets starting on April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, for a three-day consecutive climate strike to demand our elected officials take bold action to usher in an era of a Green New Deal. In light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we are pivoting our plans.
We have a responsibility, as the climate justice movement, to do what we can to contain the spread and make the movement accessible for those who are most at risk, people who are immunocompromised, and those with disabilities. It is important that those who are immunocompromised and/or disabled are not left behind in this climate movement, as they are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis.
For this reason, the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition is asking organizers across the country to no longer physically mass mobilize for Earth Day, and instead think critically and creatively about how to engage their communities in disrupting business as usual through different and new tactics. The coalition will be providing resources and ideas to support this process in the coming days and weeks.
This is not the time to give up. With many schools and workplaces shutting down, this is a time to organize more than ever. The global response to COVID-19 shows that we have the ability as governments, businesses, organizations, and individuals to take bold action to address existential threats. We must be responding to the climate emergency in the same way.
In this critical election year, we vowed to take the youth-led climate movement to the next level. The COVID-19 epidemic presents a huge challenge, but we will rise to meet it. This is a defining moment that we, as young people, are uniquely prepared to tackle. It is our time to lead.
April 22-24 remains an invitation to everyone who shares our vision of urgently addressing the climate crisis. There is an open call at 7pm EST / 4pm PST on Sunday, March 15 for organizers across the country to discuss what’s happening in their communities and their new ideas for Earth Day Strikes. We invite you to sign up by going to strikewithus.org/webinar.
– US Youth Climate Strike Coalition