The Black Community Has Always Sought a World Free From Nuclear Weapons

“Why don’t people care about the nuclear threat?” This question is often heard in the nuclear disarmament and abolition movement. Musings about why most people in the United States do not talk about the impending doom of the nuclear threat are frequent. With the rise in conversations about the intersection with other movements like Black Lives Matter or environmental justice, which are predominantly fueled by communities of color, additional questions arise: “Do they understand?” and if they do, “Why don’t they speak out more?”

The litany of proximate threats for communities of color, particularly the Black Community, includes voter suppression, policing and criminal justice reform, housing insecurity, health inequities, and more. Nuclear threats do not appear high on the list. Nevertheless, Black communities have advocated for nuclear abolition, eradicating nuclear power, and justice for impacted communities for generations. Over time individuals and groups at the forefront of these intersections have been ostracized and erased from mainstream nuclear movements, often only acknowledged when it is convenient to talk about “the diversity of the movement.” Today, Black communities are some of the most impacted by the nuclear threat, and yet their voices continually go unheard. These communities deserve better. Their history, advocacy, and stories need to be told. 

Black People and the Bomb

Many in the nuclear disarmament and abolition movements remember the iconic moment when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr linked the importance of Civil rights and the abolition of nuclear weapons by stating, “These two issues are tied together in many ways. It is a wonderful thing to work to integrate lunch counters, public accommodations, and schools. But it would be rather absurd to work to get schools and lunch counters integrated and not be concerned with the survival of a world in which to integrate.”(Feb. 6, 1968) But, he was not the first Black leader to work on this issue. Black activists have connected nuclear weapons, colonialism, and the Black Freedom struggle since the early 1940s. Even when faced with constant attacks and the dismantling of Black leftists’ groups in the 1950s, a few persisted. Civil rights leaders, including Bayard Rustin, met with groups like the War Resisters League in 1957 to launch a campaign against nuclear weapons testing. His iconic speech in June 1958 linked the “struggle against weapons of mass destruction with the struggle of Blacks for their basic Rights in America.” Bayard worked with leaders in Africa, including Kwame Nkrumah, who rallied against the Sahara Project, when France chose Africa as the location to test its first nuclear weapon.

As the movement across the diaspora worked, Black women of the civil rights movement, specifically Coretta Scott King, became vital to the nuclear abolition movement. She worked to further the multitude of causes affecting Black women in America and explained that all their efforts would be in vain in the event of a nuclear war. Black Hollywood also played a central role, starting with Paul Robeson in the 1940s, followed by Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, and other leaders in the Black community. They argued that the fight for Black freedom was inextricably linked to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the global fight for disarmament.

While the Black community has proven a need for intersectionality between nuclear disarmament and racial equity, their advocacy efforts for a nuclear-free world have largely been erased from mainstream movements. Today, the erasure of these contributions by certain factions of the movement is compounded by the continued silence about the impacts of nuclear weapons on Black communities.

Black Communities and Current Nuclear Threats

Many systemic issues affect the Black community, and increasingly systemic disparities created by the nuclear threat are prevalent.  A disproportionate number of nuclear power plants built in areas with dense populations of Black and Brown people have made permanent health impacts and systemic damage for these communities.  Nationwide, low-income Black communities have the highest risk of death from power plants. In Pennsylvania, 85% of their power plants are located in low-income and Black communities; in Mississippi, the first of three new nuclear reactors is located in Claiborne County, which is 82% Black. While these are only two examples, the trend continues in other states, including Ohio, Louisiana, and most famously, Georgia.

Shell Bluff, Georgia is a rural farming community in Burke county. The population is 51% Black. This community was “Georgia’s first Flint Water crisis.” After the construction of the two Vogtle reactors by the Georgia Powerplant, the CDC noted a 24% increase in cancer deaths in the county, with an independent study reporting a 55% increase in cancer deaths. Communities like Shell Bluff have been fighting for the closure of plants, better health conditions, and more community support for decades. They have watched as profit has been more important than people for generations. This has to change.

Call to Action

The Black community has always been able to advocate for a multitude of social issues at once, not just to find equity for their community but to find justice for all. This moment and this issue are no different. ​​Politicians, policymakers, and advocacy groups alike have spoken about the importance of creating systemic equity for the Black voices in the nuclear community and have fallen short. Over time the erasure of the Black community from the nuclear conversation has impacted their rights and justice. The nuclear threat may not be first on the list of proximate threats for the Black community, but it is there. Affected communities are watching their loved ones die, and it's time for their voices to be heard. It is the right of these communities to speak for themselves, and allies must become accomplices and amplify their voices.  The erasure of the history of Black leaders and affected communities in the nuclear movement must end

As the nuclear community works to intersect with other social justice movements and asks Black and Brown communities to speak and advocate for themselves, it must make room for their voices. Must work to create equity for their experiences and respect their role as a part of the movement’s past, present, and future. There is no question we are at a time of change, where supremacist systems must be dismantled for Black and Brown communities to be heard. So to all, don’t be silent in this fight, respect the impact of those who have paved the way, make room for new voices, and push for the change needed to secure a more peaceful, equitable, and just future.