Mutual Aid: Community Care Fueling Social and Environmental Justice
The following article was written by Allison Wray, earthday365’s Marketing and Communications Intern.
Mutual aid networks have begun popping up in cities all over the country in response to social movements and a growing need for community solidarity. First, it was the coronavirus crisis, then the galvanization of Black Lives Matter by worldwide protests. People everywhere are identifying an urgency to aid their neighbors in need directly, rather than through charities. Beyond coronavirus, mutual aid networks show potential to tackle all sorts of systemic inequalities including those caused by environmental injustice.
Image from STL Mutual Aid website
What is mutual aid?
The four main principles that define mutual aid are self-organization, egalitarianism, direct action, and the desire for social transformation. Mutual aid is not meant to be a charity; in fact, many charity organizations actually reinforce the systems that perpetuate inequality. Instead, it is rooted in solidarity, and reciprocating the needs that have been met for you by meeting the needs of others.
Mutual aid networks have been created over the last few months in numerous cities and states to provide relief in the Coronavirus pandemic. Since COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted people of color (Black people make up 49% of the population in St. Louis, but 58% of cases), mutual aid has also proven to be a useful tool in the anti-racism work gaining momentum since the pandemic began. It does so by meeting the basic needs of marginalized communities that have been made inaccessible by systemic racism for generations.
Mutual aid is so empowering because of its direct and immediate impact; there isn’t a need to petition lofty politicians to make changes. The people in need are both leading and receiving in two-way relationships, instead of keeping hierarchical systems in place and relying on a savior.
How does environmental justice factor in?
Indigenous climate organizer Valentina Harper has pointed out a parallel between the systemic vulnerability revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the similar injustices revealed by the climate change crisis. Harper drew from her environmental justice roots when she created the CareMongering Toronto mutual aid group as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, so the network’s focus translates to the current racial justice movement as well as climate and environment issues. These issues are all inherently linked; the poorest and most vulnerable groups experience a higher risk of endangerment and have fewer tools to cope with the risk. For example, race is a major indicator of a person’s likelihood to live near pollution and environmental hazards, which can cause medical conditions connected to COVID-19 risk. “It’s really about taking care of each other when the government fails to do so,” Harper says of mutual aid. Participating in mutual aid connects pandemic, social justice, and environmental justice relief all while building community solidarity, even in a time where we often can’t see our friends and neighbors face to face.
St. Louis Mutual Aid was born out of the pandemic, organized by Julia Ho and Erica Williams, but the fund exists to directly serve any community member in need of support, monetary or otherwise. STLMA’s website attests that they have already redistributed over $150,000 to neighbors in need.
Donate to the fund here: https://stlmutualaid.org/stl-mutual-aid
Request support here: https://stlmutualaid.org/stlma-request-support
And check out this larger list of mutual aid funds in other cities on pgs 4-5 of this document: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/12y7-Wa4gi8HUeFTv17gPcbMGuVX5cqIudLJmhOrq1-k/mobilebasic
This week, earthday365 is contributing to the St. Louis Mutual Aid Network in its own small way. We sought to create masks from the resources we had – unused Festival t-shirts – but quickly realized that t-shirt materials are not ideal for masks. Many thanks to Board member Nick Frisella and his family, who made 75 masks in a range of sizes from toddler to extra large. We were able to donate them to Erica Williams’ nonprofit A Red Circle, which is coordinating Mutual Aid in much of North County.
References:
https://civileats.com/2020/06/26/op-ed-we-can-build-a-better-food-system-through-mutual-aid/
https://stlmutualaid.org/stlma-learn-more
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/covid-19/data/demographics.cfm#race
