“There’s no doubt that the election results provided much-needed relief, but as we all know, the difficulties we face daily are still very big and the racism and injustices continue to be disproportionate in our community” 

 - Michelle Carranza, Duwamish Valley Youth Intern, 16

You are right, Michelle! We all know this year has been a year of challenges—challenges that remind us to reflect on what’s important and to prepare for what tomorrow may bring. Our country, and especially our Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income BIPOC communities in the Duwamish Valley continue to reel from the health, economic, social, and moral consequences of double pandemic of COVID-19 and structural racism. 

It is quickly becoming clear that the pathways being used to address the repercussions of COVID-19 in our community are the same pathways that we need to be using to build climate resilience. The measurable health impacts of COVID-19 mirror those of climate and environmental injustices by a disproportionate impact on communities of color, those with poor health and access to healthcare, those who don’t speak English and those who lack of education and employment opportunities. This means the burdens of historic and persistent institutional racism and systemic inequity are significantly magnified in today’s world. As we address our historic struggles as an Environmental Justice community together with new adversity presented by events of 2020, DRCC firmly believes that building community resilience via community ownership and decision-making is critical to climate resilience.

Together, we will fight all of these injustices - alongside our youth like Michelle - so we can leave a better future for generations to come. We cannot simply “return to normal.” We need to keep leading with Transformation. And while we work towards that transformation, much of our focus remains important: the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, the importance of protecting our most vulnerable neighbors, the significance of clean air and water, and the health benefits of increasing access to nature. Please see highlights from our annual State of the River report (Here).

This year we have relied heavily on the last sentence of our mission statement: “…promoting place making and prioritizing community capacity and resilience.” This means, we continue to prioritize our community in our work through information about current situations and events related to superfund, environmental education, advocacy, youth empowerment and making connections with neighbors to support their basic needs. As an environmental justice organization, we continue to speak truth to power about the disproportionate impacts of pollution in our river valley, as well as systemic burdens that widen health disparities.

With your help, we can continue knitting together systems of community resilience; the systems that will enable our communities to survive this crisis, the systems that will allow our communities to regenerate faster. We hope you’ll join us in making a difference in the Duwamish Valley. Due to “stay home stay healthy” orders, we were unable to host our annual fundraising event but we remained steadfast in our commitment to serve the needs of our community.

Thank you for being there with us as we work to be effective and creative and advocate for our community to be a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable place for all. The world needs us - all of us - working together for a better future. As we look forward to what’s possible, we’re deeply grateful for your continued support and engagement. 

In solidarity and community,

Paulina López, Executive Director