Movement Building
Today, communities of color all around the world are experiencing some of the greatest threats to their environment and health. With the ongoing assaults of unregulated development, the cumulative impact of multiple toxic exposures, and widening health disparities, these communities are fighting just for survival in many cases. Those fighting – environmental justice activists and organizations – can be found confronting environmental racism and degradation in cities and rural communities across our states, regions and country. Far too often they are waging these battles in isolation, are reinventing the wheel and are under-resourced, especially in comparison to their counterparts in the larger environmental movement. The combination of isolation, the lack of opportunities to share successful strategies, and the under-funding of environmental justice advocates was and is a recipe for disaster. In response to this crisis, WE ACT launched its Movement Building program with the vision of building lasting and effective networks to strengthen the capacity of the environmental, environmental health and environmental justice movements to more effectively engage communities and policymakers. Through organizing and training, we build the foundation for action, advocacy and change. The program addresses capacity issues within environmental and social justice organizations, provides technical assistance to emergent groups, facilitates the development of strategic alliances and spearheads the continued effort toward reaching critical mass. Our specific successes in the arena of Movement Building over the years are as follows:
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WE ACT is one of the founding members of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYCEJA) and in fact housed the initiative in 1992. The Alliance has since grown into a citywide network that links grassroots organizations in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color in their struggle against environmental racism. Though WE ACT is no longer a member, we continue to interact with the Alliance on citywide environmental issues, such as the Campaign for New York’s Future. Furthermore, WE ACT’s Executive Director has provided national leadership as Chairs of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) to the EPA, coordinating a large stakeholder group, making recommendations to the EPA and chairing national meetings and hearings in various parts of the country.
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As a founding member and anchor group of Northeast Environmental Justice Network (NEJN), WE ACT has stabilized the network and coordinated it to influence congressional policy and findings on environmental justice and health through coordinated testimony and policy papers.
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WE ACT has helped to develop and secure EJ language in United Nations documents regarding environmental justice and environmental health concerns. WE ACT has also served in environmental justice delegations to and preparatory meetings for the U.N. Conference on Racism as well as the World Summit For Sustainable Development.
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WE ACT's founders helped develop the Principles of Environmental Justice as part of the drafting committee at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, and chaired the Program Committee at the Second Summit in 2002.
Our current projects include the following: