'Cooked' Shows How Climate Change Kills People of Color
On February 3, “Cooked: Survival By Zip Code” will air nationwide on PBS’ Independent Lens. Scheduled to coincide with the start of Black History Month, the film makes connections “between the raging climate crisis, the long-term impacts of structural racism, ever-expanding lifespan differentials which vary by neighborhood and zip code, and what is fast becoming a serious disaster preparedness and recovery gap,” according to an emailed statement.
Directed by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand, “Cooked” investigates Chicago’s deadly 1995 heat wave—which killed 739 mostly Black, elderly and lower-income earning Chicagoans—and how the nation handles, or mishandles, disaster preparedness. As a complementary campaign to the film and the heatwave’s 25th anniversary, PBS will collaborate with movements in New York City, Miami and Chicago that work at the intersection of climate justice and the dismantling of structural racism to help prepare vulnerable communities for climate disasters.
Watch the trailer above, courtesy of Kartemquin Films.