An ELI Public Webinar
In the United States, nearly 100,000 deaths per year are attributed to fine particle pollution. People of color are three times more likely to face exposure to this deadly air pollution, twice as likely to live near landfills and industrial plants, which may increase the risk of being exposed to air and water pollutants, and more likely to be exposed to unsafe drinking water, as seen most notably in the recent Flint water crisis. These statistics reveal a repeated and disturbing pattern of environmental racism.
Environmental racism refers to the institutional rules, policies, or decisions that result in the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on marginalized communities. Since the term was coined in the 1980s, events including the 1982 Warren County PCB Landfill, the seminal “1987 Toxic Waste in the United States” report, and protests over pipeline construction on indigenous Americans’ historic land have highlighted these stark disparities.
What is the history of the modern environmental justice movement in the United States? What are the ongoing injustices facing communities of color, and how are stakeholders – including city, state, and federal government, community groups, non-profits, and others – responding? What are the opportunities for and challenges to dismantling environmental racism? Join ELI and expert panelists for an in-depth exploration of environmental racism and opportunities to dismantle it as the priority shifts to a more equitable future.
Panelists:
Benjamin F. Wilson, Partner, Beveridge & Diamond, Moderator
Jason Travis Hauter, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Jacqui Patterson, Director, Environmental and Climate Justice Program, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Vice President, Metropolitan Group
Carlton Waterhouse, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law
Materials:
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