Earth Day Weekend Day Two: 2022

Today was a very busy day as Fort Wayne observed Earth Day. I attended the WE ARE THE EARTH: Environmental Justice: A Moral Imperative (Global, National, Local) conference at Plymouth Congregational Church. The conference was sponsored by the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace. The half-day conference was full of information, networking, and inspiration.

The first keynote speaker was Malik Kenyatta Yakini, a co-founder of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. He did not hold back. He is anti-capitalist. He referred to Anthony Wayne as a criminal. He said that if we want to heal the earth then we needed to end colonialism and our extracting mentality. He stated that one of the problems was that the Abrahamic religions were interpreted as called to dominate the earth. Instead he said we are here to participate in this matrix of life and if we do not get the connections with other lives (plants and animals) we will not survive. He pointed out that our consumption of eating meat in the West was connected to class and affluence and that land used to raise cows, hogs, and chickens would be more productive growing crops.

He pointed out that our current industrial food system has led to problems with deforestation, pesticides (with over 120 dead zones), packaging and micro-plastics, and loss of top soil.
Malik was articulate. He did a dance of using data, history, and story-telling to make his points. Because of this dance he was able to say things in a way that allowed his audience to hear as he talked about white supremacy, patriarchy, and need to be in touch with the Divine Feminine if we are to move to healing and restoration. I hope to visit his community gardens in Detroit, and I hope to learn more from him.

There were several break-out sessions.  Kathryn Gwiazdon, J.D., Esq., community activist Cassandra Cannon, and Rev. Kimberly Koczan-Flory presented on the Indiana Poor People’s Campaign. This was a well-attended talk with a very active audience. The speakers talked about addressing poverty, militarism, systematic racism, destruction of habitat, and the need for a moral revival. They talked about their work internationally, nationally, and locally in Fort Wayne and in Gary Indiana.

Two of the breakout sessions were about nature and habitat. These included the Little Rivers Wetland Project presented by Betsy Yanokowiak and the Sierra Club presented by David Van Gilder. Both sounded interesting but I could only attend two of the sessions.

The last break-out session was MIDWEST BUILDING DECARBINIZATION and FAITH IN PLACE presented by Rev. Dr. Junius B. Pressey. There we learned about replacing carbon power sources with renewables. We learned about options for home owners and renters. We learned about the challenges of achieving this important goal if you were poor. We left the talk armed with handouts and ideas. It was a practical talk.

The final keynote speaker was Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. She is the co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign. She connected her/out work with the mission of Martin Luther King. She pointed out that 140 million American live in poverty. 8 million American fell into poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic. She pointed out that during the same time billionaires have become significantly wealthier. She called us to action. She called us to participate in a moral revival that connects the environment, each other, and social justice together. She called on us to participate oin the Poor People’s Campaign march on Washington June 18.

This was a full, inspiring, half-day conference.