This month, mothers from across the nation gathered to make history and stand together for a livable climate for all children. Over 150 Mothers Out Front members joined the tens of thousands of climate activists who marched the streets of New York City to garner the attention of world leaders and demand climate action.
Traveling from Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, Colorado and across New York, Mothers Out Front members knew that this march would be momentous and that their voices needed to be included in this movement. Standing for the intersection of climate, racial and social justice, members mobilized as a powerful force that could not be ignored.
At the biggest climate march in the US in the past five years, over 75,000 voices could be heard ahead of the UN Climate Ambition Summit, calling for world leaders to end fossil fuels. There was a plea for President Biden to stop federal approvals of new fossil fuel projects, phase out the oil and gas drilling on public lands, halt oil and gas exports, transition to renewable energy and declare climate change a national emergency.
The march was “overwhelmingly female,” said American University sociologist Dana Fisher, who studies environmental movements and was surveying march participants, proving the founding conviction of Mothers Out Front, that there is no more powerful force for change than women mobilizing to protect their children.
One member, Nicole Carvalho, shared her experience:
“I’m a native New Yorker and mother of 2 young boys living in the Bronx. Yesterday, I stood shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of moms and people from every walk of life who took to the streets to demand President Biden take bold action to end fossil fuels.
It was great to meet so many other moms fighting for climate justice in communities across the country: I joined the March to End Fossil Fuels because, like many other moms here, I’m concerned about the world we’re leaving to our children — and their children. This summer, when kids should be outside enjoying nature and playing, record-breaking heat waves and toxic wildfire smoke forced my children indoors.
It seems like every day is a ‘once in a century’ extreme weather event. We’re living through the early stages of our own apocalypse movie. We can either take action now and hand the next generation a healing planet or we can fail them. Personally, I’m not willing to go down without a fight.”
By harnessing the collective and individual power of every concerned citizen of Earth, those on the frontlines sent a message to world leaders and beyond. We will not be silenced or turn our backs on communities suffering injustices from fossil fuels and climate change, and we will not allow those in positions of power to choose profit over our planet. We will continue to organize, rally, raise awareness and lift the voices of those who care for and nurture children until a healthy environment for all is achieved.