The anxiety and angst people across the United States feel about the state of our country and the 2020 presidential election is palpable. At Encompass, we want to emphasize to animal advocates that the work to fight racism and to create a racially equitable movement is essential to our work for farmed animals.

The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is affecting all of humanity around the globe. What is the role of the farmed animal advocacy movement at this time?

As an animal protection group that focuses on racial justice, part of what Encompass does is shine a light on the connections people in our movement may not see. Specifically, we spotlight institutional racism because it is typically couched behind the veil of “how things are” and it deserves to be disinfected by sunlight. We care deeply about animals and the people who fight for them, and we also care deeply about those who are stuck in exploitative jobs in the food industry with no other options. The overwhelming majority of these are people of color and/or recent immigrants.

As an animal group that discusses issues related to race, it can sometimes be difficult to know when to wade into the national political conversation. But as the child of immigrant parents, I can’t help but feel a certain type of closeness with these children. As a movement, as people who show compassion to nonhuman animals, we must show this to our fellow humans.

At Encompass, our core goal is to build a racially diverse, equitable, and inclusive farmed animal protection movement. However, we recognize that systems of oppression don’t operate independently. We believe that sexism, racism, ableism, and other forms of prejudice deserve introspection, analysis, and a framework for a path forward.

I can’t help but follow every bit of the national dialogue unfolding around Harvey Weinstein and other abusers. But one thing I keep noticing is that these stories are coming largely from white women. Why is it so much easier for our society to believe white women who say that patriarchy exists than it is to believe people of color who say racism exists?

This week we've seen an uptick in white folks asking what they can do to support people of color in the wake of Charlottesville, so we developed this short list. It's by no means exhaustive but it’s a start.