The “Speaking Of …” interview series presents Paula Farmer in conversation with Miya Yoshitani.

Oct. 28, 2020

Paula: Welcome everyone. Thanks to those of you joining us live, and those coming later for the recorded version. I’m Paula Farmer. Today I’m happy to introduce you to this week’s guest, Miya Yoshitani. Miya has an extensive background in community organizing, campaign strategy, leadership development and training, as well as a long history of working in the environmental justice movement- locally, nationally and internationally. Miya was a participant in the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit and she has been a part of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) since the mid-90’s, now serving as the organization’s executive director. Thank you for doing this today. Welcome.

Miya: Happy to be here and have this conversation.

Paula: Before we get too deep into the issues at hand, please tells more about your organization.

Miya: APEN is a 28-year-old environmental justice organization based in the Bay Area. We started doing organizing in Asian refugee community in Richmond, California, built another organization in Oakland Chinatown. Environmental justice is all about the right to a clean environment where you work, live and play in their neighborhoods. We all have a right to thrive in health, wealth and self determination of our communities, and that’s whatA The real purpose for our projects and constituencies. And to do that, you need to organize and build power. At the heart of our work is really building power in communities that are normally ignored, silenced  and don’t have a lot of political power. They don’t often have the power to fight for solutions that work for their communities or speak about solutions in their language. We work with community leaders inside the culture and language.

Paula: EXACTLY TWO YEARS AGO TODAY, SCIENTISTS WARNED THAT WE HAVE LESS THAN 12 YEARS LEFT TO SHIFT OUR ECONOMY AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS OR FACE CATASTROPHIC CLIMATE CHANGE.EVEN BEFORE THAT INFO, TRUMP HAD BEGUN TO REPEAL A LOT OF NECESSARY AND PROGRESIVE ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS, INCLUDING PULLING OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, SCRAPPING CLEAN POWER PLAN, AND LOOSENING REGULATION ON TOXIC AIR POLLUTION.

IT SEEMS SO DIRE THAT WE GET THE ELECTION OUTCOME I THINK MOST OF US HERE WANT AND DESERV NEXT WEEK FOR MANY REASONS, BUT MOST DEFINITELY SO WE DON’T LOSE TOO MUCH GROUND ON POSITIVE STEPS FORWARD, ENVIRONMENTALLY SPEAKING. CAN YOU SPEAK MORE TO THAT TIME SENSITIVITY?

Miya: First the bad news- we’ve already lost a lot of time. We have a few decades where we have been wasting our time just sort of fiddling around the edges of what we actually need to be doing to address the climate crisis and certainly being able to pull ourselves back from the precipice we have one foot off of and Trump basically wants to push us off of. If we can take one step back, we’ll be in better shape than if the election goes the other way. But there are so many issues that are at the root of climate change. Climate change is a threat multiplier to inequality. The root cause of climate change is really part of the cause of the greatest injustices in our country, and the reason that our economy doesn’t work for working people and the reason we have to be constantly choosing between ourselves, our children, our air, and making a living, if we can even make a living.

The combined crisis of the pandemic and racial and economic injustice are all intertwined part of what is holding up the corporate power that is driving climate change. For all of Trump’s ridiculousness and racism, he’s operating on a wish list of the one per cent.

Paula: OBVIOUSLY, THE PANDEMIC AND BLM TOOK CENTER STAGE THIS YEAR AND WITH THE LEAD UP TO THE ELECTION, BUT HOW DO YOU FEEL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FARED AS A POLITICAL PLATFORM AND AMONG VOTERS?

Miya: One of the country’s biggest problems in terms of approach to solving environmental issues is that mainstream conservation and environmental causes have tried to extricate environmental issues from the root causes, which is basically inequality and the failure of capitalism. We need to build power and address the root causes. When we are able to put racial justice at the center of how we address these solutions, when we’re able to build a regenerative economy that works for working people and for communities of color and immigrants and refugees, those are key parts of solving the climate crisis. It’s like with the Covid crisis- it’s not just about social distancing and wearing masks, it’s also about making sure everyone has access to affordable healthcare. There’s a lot of overlap for the solutions that are required. Given that, I don’t mind in some way, but I do mind that we’re not talking about it explicitly like that. Politicians have to get better about they deal with these root causes. We have to get better about building power around the solutions that are really going to work for our communities.

Paula: I love that everything you do at APEN and what you speak about is how the environment and environmental issues intersect with community and neighborhoods. It comes down to people and where they work and live, not just the broader context of conservation, as in trees and wildlife, important though they are.

Miya: I wanted to make sure I was talking about the right aspects of the issues and recommending the best books because the fight for racial justice is core to actually winning the fights for climate change. There is no separation for the two in my mind- between the fight against white supremacy, the fight against voter suppression, especially in black communities, the fight to defund the police. All of those things are actually addressing the same set of oppressions and the things that actually undermine our ability to have healthy environments. They are all deeply connected and get to the root cause of our failure at democracy.

Paula: During the Vice Presidential debate, not much was said of environmental issues overall, but I did notice that Kamala confirmed that Biden is committed to fracking. That’s concerning, right?

Miya: Well, that was a very tailored answer for a specific group of voters in Western Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris are both moderates, and we know that, but Biden has said that we do have to have a managed decline of fossil fuel. That said, it’s going to be up to us to hold them accountable to those positions and to push them harder. There is no place for fracking in our future or coal mining. We also have to talk about the end of fossil fuel and create a just transition for workers.

Paula: Would you agree that however the election turns out, we have to maintain the pressure for change regarding all these issues, including, if not especially, the environment and climate change?

Miya: Anything that you can do that builds a collective voice and power right now is its own force. It’s also critical to support those voices coming out from frontline communities. So, people most impacted by the failure of our economy and democracy, environmental pollution. They have amazing solutions. They are the things that will work. Join with something in their neighborhood and politics. It doesn’t have to be getting out on the streets and protesting, but I would suggest that also. Being comfortable with building collective power, that’s what matters.

Paula: Why is it so important that we maintain momentum built during the Trump presidency even if Biden wins?

Miya: Whichever way the election goes, on a local level, statewide and national, we have built tremendous power. We need to not slow down and hold their feet to the fire, stretching them beyond what is politically possible to what is politically necessary.

Paula: Well said and thank you so much for your insights and focus on community and environment. You have some book recommendation related to today’s topic to share, and a shoutout to your favorite independent bookstore.

Miya: Yes, you have on your shelf behind you- “On Fire” by Naomi Klein. That and “This Changes Everything” also by Naomi Klein. Another book recommendation that’s not related to the topic, per se, but so good is “Begin Again” by Eddie Glaude, Jr. It is about James Baldwin and incredibly inspiring. And it brings us back to my earlier point that racial equality and social justice does impact how we when the environmental issues. 

My local bookstore is Pegasus on College Ave. in Oakland. They’re awesome. 

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