Editor’s note: In May, Varshini Prakash, the co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, was nominated by Sen. Bernie Sanders to serve on the Sanders-Biden Task Force on the Climate Crisis, one of six task forces that will help craft the 2020 agenda for the Biden campaign. In a statement released May 13, she explained her decision.
“When our movement voted to endorse Bernie Sanders, we said we’d keep fighting for a Green New Deal no matter what. We knew that work would include working to defeat Trump in November, then turning millions of people to the streets after that to disrupt business as usual to pressure the next President and Congress to begin legislating on the Green New Deal. Our mission was greater than any single candidate or moment. We would need a movement powerful enough to push whoever was the Democratic nominee to make the climate crisis a priority. …
“Getting to this point was not an easy decision. … [Biden] has been on the wrong side of history for some of the most defining moments of our generation: mass incarceration, NAFTA, the Iraq war, record deportations and taking on Wall Street and the credit card companies. …
“All that said, the stakes of this election are crystal clear to me. When we say we have 10 years to completely transform our society and economy to stop climate change, we mean it. We cannot afford another four years of Donald Trump.
“As if the fate of our planet wasn’t enough, our democracy is also at stake. This election is about saying no to fascism and authoritarian rule. …
“We must defeat Donald Trump, but our work neither begins or ends there – not by a long-shot. …
“[M]y participation in this task force does not and should not change the work that our movement must do to continue to build support and pressure to make a Green New Deal our nation’s top priority. The stronger and louder you are in continuing to call out for a Green New Deal, the more power I will have when I enter these negotiations. … Keep speaking up, taking action, and calling for what we need. …
“I can’t wait to see you in the streets again.”
