‘The Climate Crisis is a Racist Crisis’: Structural Racism, Inequality and Climate Change

Abstract

This chapter began life as a memorial to the death of someone whose work must be remembered for its tireless contribution to the pursuit of justice. Sadly, I was never blessed with the opportunity to meet Deyika Nzeribe in person. However, upon agreeing to deliver the inaugural memorial lecture in his name, I found myself encountering the shadow of his legacy and work in many unexpected and unanticipated places. For that reason, I must begin the chapter by thanking Ikem Nzeribe and Anita Shervington who invited me to deliver the talk that provided the basis for this piece. I am honoured to have been asked to speak at an event in Deyika’s memory. Deyika is someone who recognised the interconnected nature of our struggles. He worked to fight police violence and oppression, co-founding the Northern Police Monitoring Project (based in Manchester, UK). He admired the work of Wangari Maathai, finding inspiration to link environmental, economic and racial justice. In addition to being part of the Greens of Colour subgroup of the Green Party,1 and standing as Mayoral Candidate for Manchester, Deyika campaigned against austerity, and was involved in organisations to commemorate the 45th Pan African Congress. A poet himself, he was also involved in shaping the cultural life of the city, co-chairing Sustained Theatre Up North (STUN), film festivals and many other creative and political projects (Johnson, 2017). I hope this chapter does a degree of justice in addressing a number of the themes that Deyika worked on throughout his career and tragically shortened life.