Stories from the White House Summit on Environmental Justice in Action Blogs

This summer the Biden-Harris Administration brought together over 100 people in person and thousands more virtually to participate in the first White House Summit on Environmental Justice in Action. Community leaders, health experts, faith leaders, academics, federal agency representatives, and senior Administration officials gathered to highlight progress, celebrate local efforts to build healthier communities, and catalyze further action to build a more just and equitable future for all.

The Summit amplified the energy, hope, and ambition of President Biden and Vice President Harris's historic vision to make environmental justice a priority. Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome served as the Master of Ceremonies and helped guide the audience through various speakers and panels showcasing stories of environmental justice in action.

The day began with a heartfelt land acknowledgement, led by Carletta Tilousi, a member of the Havasupai Tribe and co-vice chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). Alongside her children, Tilousi thanked the original caretakers of the land we now know as Washington, D.C., including the Nacotchtank, Anacostan, and Piscataway peoples, and asked their permission to be present on the land.

Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Vice President of the Metropolitan Group, grounded the day with an opening that celebrated the progress and sacrifices made by so many to get us to where we are today. Dr. Mustafa Ali, Executive Vice President of the National Wildlife Federation, offered a poetic tribute, honoring late environmental justice leaders whose legacies live on in the movement.

Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory delivered opening remarks and made several key announcements, including the launch of EnvironmentalJustice.gov and the release of the second annual Environmental Justice Scorecard. She also announced the Environmental Justice Science, Data, and Research Plan and a Memorandum of Understanding between 24 federal agencies and White House offices to enhance effective collaboration across the federal government on environmental justice.

Peggy Shepard, co-chair of the WHEJAC and Co-founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, shared how the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 Initiative is helping to address decades of neglect and disinvestment, and urged the importance of continuing to build partnership and trust between communities and the government to achieve environmental justice.

Michael S. Regan, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), thanked the members of the audience for their leadership and efforts to make the country and world a better place, and spoke about the EPA's work to build partnerships and to elevate the voices of communities on the ground in delivering funding, technical assistance, and stronger environmental standards.

Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor, shared a lesson from the symbol of "Sankofa," the importance of recognizing where we come from to inform the work we do. He spoke about how communities and advocates in the room have shined a light on injustices in transportation, housing, and conservation policies to guide the Administration forward.

After the morning plenary, Nani Coloretti, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, kicked off a panel focused on Justice40 in Action by providing an overview of President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

Justice40 in Action Panel (from left to right): Abel Olivo, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Defensores de la Cuenca; Bridgette Murray, Founder and Executive Director, Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS); Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community; Keith Baker, Executive Director, Reconnect Rondo; and moderator Harold Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director, ReGenesis Institute.

During this panel, speakers shared stories of how benefits from Justice40 covered programs are reaching disadvantaged communities across the country. Harold Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director of the ReGenesis Institute and member of the WHEJAC, moderated the session and shared insights into the Biden-Harris Administration's impacts on communities. Through the ReGenesis Institute, Mr. Mitchell has helped to organize several convenings across the country to foster connections between community members and the federal government, and to support communities in applying for federal funding made available through President Biden's Investing in America agenda.

Keith Baker, Executive Director of Reconnect Rondo, spoke about how his organization is using $2 million from the Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant program to study the planning and development of an African American Cultural Enterprise District and an associated Land Bridge. This project aims to restore, reconnect, and reignite the predominantly African American neighborhood of Rondo, which was destroyed and displaced by the construction of Interstate 94 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The funding will help to repair the social, economic, environmental, and spiritual fabric of the community. "The legislation that the Biden Administration has put in place has, without question, allowed us to set those conditions for the future," Baker said.

Bridgette Murray, Founder and Executive Director of Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS), received $500,000 in funding from EPA's ARP Grant Competition for Community Monitoring program to expand community-driven air monitoring in Houston, Texas, to combat poor air quality and urban air toxins through advocacy and science. She shared that her community, surrounded by freeways, has been concerned about air quality. With the support of federal funding, projects led by ACTS are enabling the community to address some of their pollution concerns and the associated health impacts. Her organization was able to access these funds by working with "Justice40 hubs," a program set up by the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and the Bullard Center for Environmental & Climate Justice, and funded by EPA's Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers.

Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, shared the history of his community and how the nearly $6 million they received from the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation to construct and install solar panels over the Casa Blanca Canal is transforming the community. This project is powering homes and businesses while shading and protecting water sources. Governor Lewis explained how the Administration's Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool has supported federal agencies in recognizing the sovereignty of Tribes while delivering historic funding in housing, healthcare, climate projects, and infrastructure. "Our work with this incredible White House…has helped us launch projects needed to get closer to our goals. The implementation of the Justice40 Initiative, the IRA, BIL…became available to tribal governments across Indian country in a way that has been historic," Governor Lewis said.

Abel Olivo, Co-founder and Executive Director of Defensores de la Cuenca, works to bring more Latinos into the environmental space and more resources to the Latino community in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Olivo shared that through a $2 million award from the Department of Agriculture's Community and Urban Forestry Program, his organization will expand its Embajadores de Los Árboles (Tree Ambassador Program), a paid training program that recognizes the barriers to engaging with nature and bilingually educates people about the benefits of trees. He also explained that the communities they engage with are the communities most impacted by heat islands and the health impacts of extreme heat, and most in need of trees and green space. With this additional funding, Defensores de la Cuenca will also help establish Sembrando el Futuro, an urban nursery to grow native trees, create jobs, and provide community programming.

After the panel, Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSEJ), WHEJAC member, and a lifelong environmental justice leader, shared her personal experience and reflections on the many milestones of the environmental justice movement, from the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit to the many pillars of the Biden-Harris Administration's robust environmental justice agenda. "I am 76 years old and I have never been more inspired to work - harder and harder. We are going to win this fight," she said. "I am going to be a grandmother for the first time, I want this world to be better for my grandchild."

The second panel, opened and moderated by Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome, focused on how the Biden-Harris Administration is creating a robust environmental justice infrastructure and protecting communities' health and wellbeing through regulations, investments, implementation of Executive Order 14096 on Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, and technical assistance.

Biden-Harris Administration's Progress on Building Healthy Communities Panel (from left to right): Moderator, Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer, White House Council on Environmental Justice; and panelists Almeta Cooper, National Manager, Health Equity, Mom's Clean Air Force; Jerome Shabazz, Executive Director, Overbrook Environmental Education Center; Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Organizing, Ironbound Community Corporation; and Donele Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer, the Green Door Initiative.

During the panel, Donele Wilkins, Founder and CEO of the Green Door Initiative in Detroit, Michigan, shared how the new American Climate Corps is amplifying her own efforts to train and elevate youth in the environmental justice movement, stating, "this Administration, by far, has done the most to work with communities to ensure there is a trajectory of young people coming into this work." She also spoke about the Green Door Initiative's project, "Motor City to Solar City," which aims to revitalize and promote environmental and climate justice in Detroit's northeast side.

Maria Lopez-Nuñez, WHEJAC member and Deputy Director of Advocacy and Organization at Ironbound Community Corporation, urged the audience to be bold in this moment, and spoke to the importance of the Biden-Harris Administration's community-led grants and the impacts of new environmental rules, particularly for her community of Ironbound that is just "four-square miles with three powerplants… and surrounded by the largest Superfund site in the country." She urged the audience and the federal government to be "as brave as the community."

Jerome Shabazz, Executive Director of Overbrook Environmental Education Center, shared how his organization is part of the EPA's Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers to help other organizations and communities access federal dollars. He explained that technical assistance has created a "social architecture" that involves and serves frontline and under-resourced communities. He also shared that the Biden-Harris Administration is involving community in designing and delivering funding and technical assistance, "because your life experience is the most valuable asset to understanding how we go about creating a solution."

Almeta Cooper, National Manager for Health Equity at Moms Clean Air Force, spoke about the impact of the Administration's regulatory agenda on women and mothers. She explained how the Department of Labor's proposed rule takes important steps to reduce the health risks of heat exposure for U.S. workers in outdoor and indoor settings. She also spoke about the EPA's new and stronger standards on soot pollution to increase health and clean air protections for families, workers, and communities. She underscored the importance of communicating in an accessible way to inform communities about the risks of environmental exposures to their health.

To wrap up the day, John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, thanked the audience members for their work to make environmental justice a national issue. "From the streets of the Bronx to the bayous of Louisiana, and from the native lands of Arizona to the neighborhoods of Miami, you have borne witness to environmental injustice, and you have delivered for your community," Podesta said.

And finally, Richard Moore, co-chair of the WHEJAC and Co-Coordinator of Los Jardines Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, closed out the event by reviewing the shared commitments of the environmental justice movement and urging the audience to recommit to them: "[W]e have to stay together, we need to stay unified, we've got to stay strong, and we have to keep pressure on the U.S. government. But at the same time, we have to thank this Administration for doing what no other Administration has done."

For more on how the Biden-Harris Administration's environmental justice agenda is delivering for communities, visit EnvironmentalJustice.gov.

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