“I don’t see myself as just an environmental activist… I think that environmental activism is racial activism, reproductive rights activism. I think it’s all intersected and you can’t look at one without the other. You can’t look at the environment without thinking of humans…The two can’t be separated.”

These were the words of Larisa Manescu, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club’s Communication Coordinator, at a press conference held last week about President Donald Trump’s advocacy for a border wall. The Sierra Club joined together with members of the Workers Defense Project, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and City Council members Greg Casar, Delia Garza, and Ann Kitchen to show their opposition for a border wall. You can watch the press conference here>>

Later that same day, Austin City Council passed a resolution asking the city manager to develop a policy that requires every organization seeking to do business with the City of Austin to disclose if it has been involved in any way with the design, construction, or maintenance of a border wall. As other cities (Tucson, San Diego) have done across the US, this would allow the city to refuse to do business with any company involved with the border wall. 

“Like any city, Austin has the right, within all relevant laws, to direct its business to companies that are good community partners,” said Garza, who sponsored the resolution. “Any business that would profit off of creating an environment of xenophobia should not be a business we choose to have a relationship with.”