One of the biggest challenges any White racial non-conformist faces is being expelled by their tribe. It’s hard to break from family and friends who see you as an oddity or a traitor. Climate change forces people to live in proximity to each other as the extreme weather events create movement of various populations to safe areas.
In the old seaside resort of Atafona on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the Atlantic Ocean has been destroying streets, houses and businesses for more than 50 years, claiming at least 500 buildings.the sea has been eating away at the coastal community of Atafona in São João da Barra municipality, in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state. For the residents, waiting for a solution, the future is uncertain. Flooding reveals deep-seated racial and socio-economic disparities, with Black communities facing the harshest consequences. Rising global temperatures and altered precipitation patterns are contributing to more extreme and unpredictable weather, posing a growing threat to vulnerable populations.
In Brazil, the Black Coalition for Rights organizations have been striving for acknowledgment from the authorities regarding the environmental racism prevalent in the country. The devastating consequences of climate change have exacerbated the vulnerability of life for the black Brazilian community, which is already subjected to systematic victimization through necropolitics in Brazil. Numerous climate-related disasters have occurred across the nation, affecting black and impoverished urban communities, as well as rural areas, forests, and quilombola settlements, particularly in regions where the majority of the population is black. These climate change impacts stem from the lack of effective public policies to address the evolving environmental conditions.
Brazil is back, president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has told rapturous crowds at the UN climate summit COP27 in Egypt. Walking into a room of supporters singing his name, Lula promised to restore the Amazon rainforest and chase down climate criminals. Huge numbers gathered to see him speak, making him one of the superstars of this summit. Nations are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss tackling climate change. Just two weeks after his narrow election win, Lula is making his first appearance on the international stage, meeting leaders including from the US, China and the EU at the climate conference. Another reality is that despite centuries of trying to lighten the population the majority of Brazilians since 2010 has been Black! An estimated 92 million Brazilians are of African ancestry, according to the 2010 census, which found that more than half (51 per cent) of the Brazilian population now identify as preto (black) or pardo (mixed ethnicity).
This has led to a significant shift in perspective, akin to the one many individuals in the UK and the USA are striving to prevent, as each successive generation becomes increasingly diverse and less Caucasian. Social scientists have extensively documented the profound impact of proximity and interracial relationships, referring to it as "contact theory." Gordon Allport, a prominent figure in 20th-century psychology, coined this term to describe instances where individuals raised in prejudiced environments were exposed to the humanity of those considered "others," leading to transformative changes in their perceptions towards healthier, less fearful, and less self-centered worldviews. Allport emphasized that mere acquaintance between White and non-White individuals was insufficient; additional factors such as personal interaction, equal status, and shared objectives were crucial. Allport's research, which was replicated across various civilian contexts, demonstrated that animosity and racism arise from a lack of interaction, a challenge eliminated by climate change.
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