Utica Climate Strike Dec. 6

On Friday, December 6, a coalition of climate justice organizations will host a rally at the intersection of Genesee Street and Memorial Parkway as part of the National Climate Strike.

The coalition of organizations is made up of Citizen Action Central New York, Extinction Rebellion Mohawk Valley, the Hamilton College Feminists of Color Collective, Indivisible Mohawk Valley, Sunrise Movement Hamilton College, Town of Kirkland Democratic Committee and the Utica College Outdoors Club.

The coalition wants to work with local governments that will and are affected by the climate crisis in order to achieve the principles listed below, especially the Oneida County government after recent flooding incidents.

The rally will include opportunities for attendees to speak on what they have to lose to the climate crisis as well as chants, songs and silent meditation. The rally begins at noon and runs until about 1:30 p.m.

The rally is being held with these key principles:

1. The climate crisis is happening now in Central New York and around the world, and it is incumbent that we act now. Any hesitation to stop the crisis will have long-term impacts that will affect all generations to come after us.
2. The city of Utica and Oneida County need to become certified climate smart communities and set the same goals as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act for their respective communities in order to properly respond to the crisis.
3. The recently passed Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act needs to be carried out to the fullest extent possible across the state of New York.
4. The first people to be impacted by the climate crisis are those in marginalized communities, which includes but is not limited to indigenous peoples, refugees, lower-income people, people of color, women, people of minority faiths and people in the LGBTQ-plus community. All actions taken need to consider the effects on these groups in the drafting and implementation of climate justice policy.
5. The events unfolding in the destruction of our planet is a crisis, and it should be named as such by government officials and the mass media in order to convey the gravity of the situation.