The country was stunned when Kanye West went off-script on live TV during a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert. "George Bush doesn't care about Black people," he declared. West has said some wild things since then, but this message still resonates today.
His statement called out decades of systemic racism and anti-Black narratives: "I hate the way they portray us in the media," Kanye said. "You see a Black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food." He wasn't wrong.
In the 1950s and 60s, Black people migrated to New Orleans for work. As anti-Blackness does, the city constructed large areas of public housing in low-lying areas below sea level. Whites fled to the suburbs on higher ground. When Katrina hit in 2005, the weak, unmaintained levees broke, and floods swept away Black people, homes, and businesses.
West's timely rage wasn't an attack on a president. It called out social inequalities, which become even worse when disasters strike. This is still happening. Climate change is still hitting Black communities hardest.
When it comes to Black liberation, we must go off-script and do things differently. We must both call out anti-Blackness and take action. To combat climate threats, we must continue building and supporting local, Black-led grassroots organizations dedicated to climate justice.