Before the Streetlights Come On

Black America's Urgent Call for Climate Solutions (An Excerpt)

Illustration by Marcus Dawson

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Before the Streetlights Come On

Black America's Urgent Call for Climate Solutions (An Excerpt)

by Heather McTeer Toney
Southern Cultures, Vol. 29, No. 3: Snapshot: Climate

“Compassion and action for the planet cannot exist without compassion and action for the people on it.”

While visiting Sarasota, Florida, my husband agreed to join me in doing something I absolutely LOVE and completely unrelated to work—foot massages. We found a quaint little spot in a quiet retirement community. It wasn’t overly glamourous—average size homes with small, neat yards, and the random golf cart illegally riding along the city street. With a few minutes to spare, we saw a shopping plaza with a health food–based grocery store and decided to stop in. It took less than two minutes for us to realize we were NOT in a regular store.

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