Our Story

Extinction Rebellion New Orleans formed in early August of 2019, and from the outset we all felt a strong spirit of trust and kinship (regenerative culture, in XR parlance). We are a small group of activists, and our core work has been:

1. building community within XR, with an emphasis on regenerative culture

2. building community and joining in solidarity with the larger social and climate justice community in Southern Louisiana and The Gulf South.      

Relationship with XR National/InternationaL

We are a part of both the national and international Extinction Rebellion organizations, and as such have a set of demands and principles that guide us in our work and in our actions. One of the reasons we in New Orleans were called to form an Extinction Rebellion chapter was because of the decentralized and empowering system of organizing used by XR chapters around the world. We believe that working as part of a larger network, whilst retaining our individuality, is an essential part of Extinction Rebellion and we model that dynamic in XR NOLA.

Our analysis of climate crisis/climate injustice as rooted in systemic inequalities

We also believe that we cannot organize to address the climate crisis without addressing the intersecting systems of injustice that are its root cause. If we are not organizing with an active analysis of, and reflection on, systems of racial, economic, and social injustices, then we are not doing the work. We also understand that this is not passive, but active work. The actions of decolonization and undoing racism are daily actions and require us to listen to and stand alongside those communities that are on the front lines of the climate crisis. We cannot organize together unless we uplift and support the voices of those that have been subjugated and repressed for so long. It is not about one group helping another from a distance, it is about a shared work that we participate in together.