05/30/2025
The recent storm in STL wasnโt just a โnatural disaster.โ
What weโre witnessing in St. Louis is the result of colonialism, capitalism, and environmental abuse that is centuries in the making.
Capitalism means profits over people.
Developers cut corners, built cheap housing in flood zones, ignored storm safety, and left Black and Brown neighborhoods without basic infrastructure. Insurance companies dodged responsibility. Politicians continue to fund luxury projects instead of resilient communities.
Colonialism stole land, broke kinship systems, and forced Black and Indigenous people into the most vulnerable environments, then blamed us for the outcomes. Now, those same forces are circling again, trying to buy our land after a storm.
Environmental abuse paved over nature, polluted the air, and denied climate knowledge for profit. STL's hottest and most flood-prone areas are the same ones redlined decades ago. These storms are getting worse. This is the climate crisis and itโs racialized.
Things to remember:
โข Donโt sell your land under pressure. Talk to a housing justice org first.
โข Support land trusts and community ownership efforts.
โข Prioritize repairs for renters, elders, and unhoused neighbors who are often left out of recovery efforts.
โข No decisions about our neighborhoods without us at the table.
โข Support grassroots organizers, not just contractors.
โข Fund long-term mental health, mutual aid, and neighborhood repair not just short-term response.
St. Louis is waking up. And we will not go back to โnormal.โ Normal got us here.
Weโre building toward justice, repair, and collective liberation.
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