Legislatively Speaking
By Senator Lena C. Taylor
Lena C. Taylor
When things are happening around me, that I can’t immediately explain, I will often defer to Marvin Gaye’s 1971 release “Mercy, Mercy Me: The Ecology.” The song was written during a period in which Americans were challenged to think about how they were treating the planet. We understood industrialization’s benefits, but we were also being forced to consider its consequences. As a child when I was first introduced to the song, I didn’t fully understand that meaning or message:
“Whoa, ah, mercy mercy me
Oh things ain’t what they used to be, no no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east”
For my purposes, the song was a way to acknowledge God’s divine mercy, when humans were just making a mess of things. The track, which was included on Gaye’s iconic “What’s Going On” album, was a part of a broader compilation of protest and social justice songs. It is amazing to think that the majority of Motown’s board and Berry Gordy, didn’t like the album and tried to block its release. At the time, the album went against a Motown philosophy for their artists: stay away from controversial subjects in both your music and interviews. Marvin Gaye was determined to walk straight into the line of fire.This iconic soul and R&B singer made a decision to write a refrain raising questions about environmentalism.
“Whoa mercy, mercy me,
Oh things ain’t what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas, fish full of mercury”
Written nearly 50 years ago, Gaye’s questions remain relevant. As the Trump administration works to fire up coal and oil-burning plants, they are willing to ignore mercury pollution and other deadly toxicants that create havoc on American citizens. The harm caused includes asthma attacks, premature deaths, and crippling effects on pregnant women. Therefore, the answers that are offered today are woefully inadequate or downright wrong.
As we celebrate Earth Day, it is pretty clear that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been weaponized under Trump. Checks and balances over carbon pollution, climate control, car emissions continue to be rolled back. The EPA functions more as a protection agency for corporations hell-bent on placing profits over human life and the preservation of the planet. Until the agency is managed in a way that equates to its name, we all can play a part. And when I say we, that means Black folks too.
Often it is said that Black folks care little about the environment, whether because of circumstance or a rebuttal of anything connected to a land, that our ancestors were forced to work for free. I would argue that it’s simply not true. Throughout history, African-Americans have focused on this issue. From Carter G. Woodson and John Francis to Will Allen and Marjora Carter, there are black environmentalists who you should get to know. We can use Earth Day to beg for mercy from an administration that is tone-deaf or we can educate and empower ourselves to heed Marvin’s message.