The legacy of historic inequities and racial injustice often creates disproportionately high concentrations of pollution in low-income areas and in communities of color—often called environmental justice communities—compounding the health risks of people living there. These neighborhoods are also more vulnerable to more frequent and severe extreme weather already observed in the United States due to climate change. As Gov. Phil Murphy (D) sets new environmental priorities for New Jersey, state and local leaders have an opportunity to work with the environmental justice community to develop and implement equitable solutions that tackle climate change, cumulative pollution impacts, and other environmental issues that create distinct and pressing challenges in low-income areas and for communities of color.
Please join the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance and the Center for American Progress, along with state officials, members of Congress, environmental justice community residents and advocates, and progressive policy leaders, to discuss just policy options to reduce carbon pollution and associated co-pollutants. Participants will also assess strategies to prepare for climate change effects and address cumulative pollution impacts in environmental justice communities. Held on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the summit will create an opportunity to reflect on King’s legacy and advance progress toward environmental justice.
Distinguished speakers and panelists:
Ana Baptista, The New School and the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA)
Laureen Boles, NJEJA
Alison Cassady, Center for American Progress
Valorie Caffee, NJEJA
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, (NJ-12)
Kathleen Frangione, Chief Policy Advisor to New Jersey Governor Murphy
Lisa Garcia, Earthjustice
Cathleen Kelly, Center for American Progress
Chief Vincent Mann, Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lenape Nation
Deputy Commissioner Debbie Mans, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Cecilia Martinez, Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy
Kevin Moore, NJEJA
Michele Roberts, Environmental Justice Health Alliance
Nicole Scott-Harris, NJEJA
Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, Good Neighbor Baptist Church
Nicky Sheats, NJEJA