race and the environment in the 21st century

WHAT:

Can people, place, and land relationships be reassembled to create environmental justice? Can digital equity affect environmental justice? These are a few of the questions that will be asked during the panel discussion on the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice. The event will explore issues of race and the environment in the 21st century, featuring a discussion with our faculty as they explore the themes of the Principles and opportunities for achieving environmental justice across different social movements, practices, and disciplinary perspectives

Delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held on October 24-27 in 1991 in Washington D.C., drafted and adopted the 17 Principles. These Principles were created to build a national and international movement to fight the destruction and seizing of lands and communities and to secure political, economic, and cultural liberation denied for over 500 years of colonization and oppression. Since then, The Principles have served as a defining document for the grassroots movement for environmental justice.

WHO:

Maya Wiley; Senior Vice President for Social Justice & Henry Cohen Professor of Urban Policy and Management at The New School. Wiley served as Counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio where she advised de Blasio on a range of legal issues, and worked to bring digital equity to more than 16,000 New York City residents living in five of the city’s public housing developments by providing them with affordable broadband access. She has worked at Columbia University’s AIDS Anti-Discrimination Law clinic to create equity and justice for people living with AIDS, founded and served as President of the Center for Social Inclusion, a national policy strategy organization on racial inclusion, and developed programs to transform structural racism in the U.S. and South Africa. Wiley holds her J.D. from Columbia University Law School.

Mia White; Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies. Dr. White is an expert in the intersection of black studies, environmental studies, critical urban studies, political ecology, social movements, and community development. White has worked for the Ford Foundation in sustainable community and resource development/environmental justice, the Robin Hood Foundation in post 9/11 redevelopment, and at the Ms. Foundation for Women in advocacy, democracy, and post-Katrina redevelopment. Dr. White holds a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Urban Studies and Planning.   

Mindy Fullilove; Professor of Urban Policy and Health. Dr. Mindy Thompson Fullilove is a board-certified psychiatrist who examines links between the environment and mental health. She started her research career in 1986 with a focus on the AIDS epidemic, and became aware of the close link between AIDS and place of residence. Using psychology of place, Dr. Fullilove has examined the mental health effects of such environmental processes as violence, rebuilding, segregation, urban renewal, and mismanaged toxins. Dr. Fullilove holds an M.D. from Columbia University in Medicine.

Ana Baptista; Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management & Associate Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center. Dr. Baptista grew up in the Ironbound community in Newark, New Jersey, and was the Director of Environmental and Planning programs for the Ironbound Community Corporation where she oversaw a wide range of environmental justice, community development, and community based planning for the Ironbound community. She was most recently the Director of the Energy and Environment Program at the Regional Plan Association where she oversaw a diverse portfolio of issues ranging from climate change to greenspace preservation across the New York metropolitan region. Dr. Baptista holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Urban Planning.

Michelle DePass; Dean of Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, Tishman Professor of Environmental Policy and Management, and Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center. Prior to becoming a dean, DePass served as the Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency, a presidentially appointed and senate-confirmed position. At the EPA, DePass was responsible for all dimensions of environmental policy between the EPA and other nations, federally recognized tribal nations, and multilateral institutions and donors. She has served as founding Executive Director of the New York Environmental Justice Alliance and Senior Policy Advisor to the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. DePass holds a J.D. from Fordham Law School.

WHEN:

Wednesday, October 26th from 6:30-9:00pm at Tishman Auditorium, 63 Fifth Avenue

The event will also be livestreamed here.

The event is free, but members of the press must RSVP with Will Wilbur.