This Juneteenth feels different, and it calls for a deeper kind of reflection. I find myself thinking not only about history, but about the moment we are in now and what it is asking of us. At a time when we are witnessing the steady erasure of centuries of Black history and the dismantling of voting rights, I am reminded that freedom has never been guaranteed. Freedom, like climate justice, depends on sustained vigilance, care, and collective action.
I have found myself paying closer attention to how the changing climate is shaping our daily lives, and asking who gets to live safely, who has access to resources, and whose communities are allowed to thrive. I have come to the quick conclusion that climate justice is not separate from the fight for Black freedom; it is part of it.
As I sit with that reality, I have returned to the words of Dr. Angela Davis, who spoke last month at the Black Equity Collective’s Equity & Justice Symposium: “We must always be prepared for unexpected changes.” Hearing her say that — in a room with more than 500 Black leaders and activists — made the moment feel even more real. Our freedom to vote, and our ability to breathe clean air and drink safe water, depend on how we respond to today’s changes.
The symposium centered on “The Arc of Black Permanency,” a vision for sustaining Black leadership, institutions, and community across generations. I keep coming back to that vision, and the more I sit with it, the more I understand that Black Permanency is not only about survival — it is about ensuring that Black communities endure and thrive, even as the ground beneath us continues to shift.
So how do we respond to constant shifts?
First, we must be consistent and intentional in how we invest in young people. They are inheriting a world shaped by extreme heat, poor air quality, flooding, and displacement, but they are not accepting those conditions as fixed. The young people I meet are clear about what they are up against — and what they are not willing to accept. They are organizing, naming environmental harm, and pushing for a world where clean air, clean water, and safe communities are rights.
Uplifting youth leadership requires those of us who are established in this work to make room for the people coming behind us. Our role is not to hold on to power, but to support their ideas and trust in their ability to lead in ways that meet this moment. If we are serious about Black Permanency, investing in young people is how this work continues.
Just as critical as clearing the way for future leaders is showing up for each other in the present. Juneteenth is rooted in collective survival, in the ways that newly freed Black communities built systems of care when none existed for them. That same truth is playing out now. When the current administration stripped billions of dollars in congressionally appropriated funds, frontline leaders doubled down on sharing resources — ensuring the survival of community-based organizations losing critical federal funding.
These acts are a continuation of a long tradition of collective care in the Black community. A care that is essential as “once-in-a-generation” climate events happen again and again. Communities, especially Black communities, are navigating environmental harms — from extreme heat and flooding to long-standing neglect of energy and water infrastructure. Far too often, the people facing the greatest harm receive the least support from the systems they should be able to rely on. Staying rooted and in community with one another is what allows us to endure. This is what Black Permanency looks like in practice.
Lastly, we need to constantly ask ourselves a simple question: What do I have the capacity to do? Every day we must be honest with ourselves about what we can commit to. And we must maintain the discipline to follow through.
This might mean deepening your understanding of the links between Black history and environmental harm. It might mean supporting local organizing, protecting voting rights, advocating for equitable policies, or investing in the leaders and organizations already doing this work. The goal is not to address everything; the goal is to show up consistently and contribute where our individual skills and abilities are most needed.
This Juneteenth demands remembrance and decision. Our freedom rests in what was won and in what we choose to protect and extend — including the right to clean air, safe water, and a life lived with dignity.
In the face of the inevitable change Dr. Davis spoke of, our responsibility becomes clear: to act with intention. The future we want will only exist if we commit, together, to building it.
