Minneapolis gathers for Earth Day amidst attacks on environment

Minneapolis, MN – On April 18, hundreds took to the streets of Minneapolis, to celebrate Earth Day and demand an end to capitalism’s relentless attacks on the planet. Organized by the Climate Justice Committee along with numerous coalition partners, the rally and march was held under the banner “Earth is for everyone – No one is illegal.”

The march began at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis and travelled to The Commons park, where speeches and tabling were held. Minneapolis-based band Van Cleaver provided music for the afternoon.

Speakers covered a range of topics, from the Trump administration’s attacks on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, to how climate change is a driver of immigration and displacement.

Tracy Molm of the CJC said, “ At a time when communities are facing environmental destruction, displacement, and escalating political attacks, this Earth Day action makes one thing clear: the fight for the planet is inseparable from the fight for human rights.”

Aizar Cabrera from MIRAC drew a connection between climate change and the immigration, saying, “When humans harm our planet, through pollution, deforestation, mining, and countless other atrocities caused by their manic greed they permanently disrupt ecosystems and destroy livelihoods, forcing people to leave their homes to survive. And when these climate refugees come here, seeking the safety and prosperity they have lost to climate change and natural disasters, they are vilified and told to go back to where they came from.”

The attacks on the Boundary Waters proved to be an energizing issue for the attendees. Chris Knopf, the executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters, gave a fiery speech excoriating Representative Pete Stauber’s use of the Congressional Review Act to overturn a moratorium on mining in the Boundary Waters watershed.

Knopf stated, “We in Minnesota have proven that hardship is not what defines us. What defines us is how we respond. Our strength, our resilience, our resistance have inspired the nation and the world.”

Knopf continued, “Trump, Stauber, and those in power in Washington DC are no match for the people of Minnesota. They are no match for you. We in Minnesota know how to stand up to Trump. We’ve done this for months now. We will stand up for the Boundary Waters; we will stand up for our clean water.”

A member of the CJC stated, “Our planet has a disease. And that disease is capitalism. A virus that corrupts…that works for the 1% instead of us. Our forests and wetlands, burned for beef production, stripped and polluted for minerals and drained for data centers. Our rivers and aquifers drained for oil pipelines and animal agriculture, rising oceans used as a dumping ground, and overfished until all that is left is waste and water. If you kill the planet you kill the people! The vision of the ruling class is a frightful new world where we own nothing, have no rights and have to remove the parts of us that make us human: empathy, community, critical thinking, love, in order to survive under the constant, deadly watch of corporate overlords.”

The event concluded with pizza for all, more music from Van Cleaver, and an invite to future events, including MIRAC’s May Day march on May 1.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #EarthDay #ClimateJusticeCommittee #BoundaryWaters #BWCA