Environmental Justice: Confronting Environmental Disparities through a National and Local Lens

Having clean air and water, a safe home, and a sustainable environment free from pollution and climate change are all essential to living a healthy life. Everyone deserves to be treated equally regarding the laws, regulations, and policies impacting their environments.

Unfortunately, racial and economic disparities have and continue to exist between those who have the power to impact environmental conditions and those who do not, leaving those without power to suffer the consequences of health hazards in their communities.

Out of these conditions, the environmental justice movement was born and is still being fought today. Yet, environmental justice demands a different future for communities overburdened by hazards like lead in their water, pollution in their air, and chemicals in their soil.

This half-day Symposium will bring together leaders from academia, community organizations, and the government to examine how impacted communities historically fought for change and what lessons can be learned from these efforts. It will also explore ways New Jersey is leading the fight for environmental justice and where work remains to be done.

Keynote Speaker: Nicky Sheats, Ph.D., MPP, Esq. Director, Center for the Urban Environment, Johns S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research, Kean University

Speakers:

Kandyce Perry, Director, Office of Environmental Justice, Department of Environmental Protection

Melissa Miles, MA Executive Director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

View the flyer here.