If you’ve been paying any attention to the news, you’ve probably heard a bit about Al Gore’s movie entitled An Inconvenient Truth. The movie has received numerous accolades for its honest analysis of the emerging
environmental crisis and Al Gore has managed to remake himself as both a viable presidential candidate and a truly environmentally friendly (read: tolerable) alternative to former Green party nominee Ralph Nader. We initially wondered whether we’d be able to sit through the lecture style delivery without having painful flashbacks to HBCU Founder’s Day ceremonies, but we found ourselves quickly engrossed in Gore’s grim prognostications. We won’t give away all of the juicy facts, but the message is pretty simple- change our consumptions habits now, or face a hot, humid, and unbearably greasy future, replete with famine, floods, and abundant pestilence.
The pertinence of Gore’s message shouldn’t be surprising. Plenty of black intellectuals pointed out the ills of environmental racism in the 90s (slightly different premise, similar consequences). And surely every black person understands the kind of damage increased heat and humidity can wage on an 80 dollar perm or a 10 dollar finger wave. Still, black folk have yet to establish a clear voice in support of environmental causes. We’re not sure if it’s because too many of us are too poor to be concerned with recycling or too gangsta’ to drive a Prius. However, it’s clear that, collectively, we have managed to disavow our role in destroying the world’s ecosystem and overlook the potential impact even small changes to our environment could have on our community.
To be fair, there is a smattering of eco-friendly African Americans in our midst. Unfortunately, most are so anti-establishment that their environmental politics get lost amid their unlikely conspiracy theories, cheap dashiki’s, and tired tang of patchouli incense. Meanwhile, those that consistently command the largest black audiences do little to encourage environmental awareness. Hip hop theologians and ministers of prosperity, for instance, promote super-sized consumption- big houses, big cars, and even bigger butts. None of which are eco-friendly.
Strangely, many African Americans justify exorbitant consumption as an exercise in retribution. That is, black folk have earned the right to consume and pollute as we please (never mind the environmental consequences) because of our country's legacy of disenfranchisement. There’s something severely short-sited and troubling about this perspective. And while we’re probably guilty of over-simplifying the matter (in an effort to be 
concise), it’s problematic that our leadership hasn’t recognized that even minute changes to our environment could have severe repercussions for poor and working class African Americans (see Katrina for more evidence).
Beyond making it impossible for our perms, finger waves, and s-curls to hold, increases in the aggregate temperature of the earth will surely increase the likelihood of natural disasters, decrease the amount of inhabitable land, and increase the cost of fossil fuels (and you think it’s hard to find a house now?). This inconvenience will, undoubtedly, have severely injurious effects on the economic and social infrastructures of black communities and the life-chances of future generations of African Americans.
Bottom line: It’s time we get serious about protecting our environment.
Take a friend to see An Inconvenient Truth.
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