news ejrc

6/29/2011 - CAU’s Environmental Justice Resource Center 2011 Spring Graduation: Promoting Success One Student at a Time
On Monday, June 27, after six weeks of intensive studying and hands-on training, it was time to celebrate a journey well travelled for the 22 graduates of the Workers Education and Training Program. Instructors, collaborative and community partners gathered at Copeland’s Restaurant to break bread and reflect on challenges met and goals obtained. Through testimonials, it was obvious to everyone, that this was a life changing experience. Several participants, who had been chronically unemployed, believe that they now have the skills and support system necessary for them to achieve success. Click HERE for Full Media Advisory.

10/25/09 – Environmental Leaders from Six States to Hold Press Conference Following Meeting with EPA
Environmental leaders representing more than a dozen impacted communities will hold a press conference on Tuesday, October 27, 12:30 PM; after a meeting with EPA Region 4 acting administrator A. Stanley Meiburg and senior staff to present documentation of environmental injustice, unequal protection, and failures on the part of the EPA and state environmental agencies to protect the health and environment of low-income and people of color communities. The press briefing will take place immediately after the meeting at the EPA, 61 Forsyth St. in Atlanta. Click HERE for Full Media Advisory.

9/16/09 – Environmental Justice Group Leaders Urge Congressman John Lewis to Call for an Investigation of EPA Region 4
More than three dozen environmental justice groups representing all eight states in EPA Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee) are urging longtime civil right leader Congressman John Lewis to call for a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation of EPA Region 4 response to environmental justice, toxic contamination, and health threats in low-income and people of color communities. Click HERE for full letter.

9/6/2007 Environmental Justice Leaders Call for Tougher EPA Ozone Standard
ATLANTA, GA, September 6, 2007 – The Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing in Atlanta Wednesday on whether to tighten federal health standards on ground level ozone, the main ingredient in smog. A half-dozen environmental justice scholars and activists from the National Black Environmental Justice Network, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Dillard University, and the Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Equity Alliance, a local grassroots group that works on public transit and minority health, called for stricter regulations to clean up the nation’s dirty air. EPA is proposing a reduction to between 0.070 and 0.075 parts per million. It’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) has suggested setting the limit even lower, between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million. Studies now show ozone, even at lower concentrations, can cause major health damage. EPA’s Myths & Facts about Nonattainment fact sheet dispels the myth that a designation of nonattainment (unhealthy air) will significantly limit economic growth. It points to the Atlanta metro region as an example. The agency plans to settle on a final standard by March 12.

7/26/2007 More than 100 Groups Call on U.S. Senate to Address Environmental Justice
On Wednesday, professor Robert D. Bullard (Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University) presented the Senate Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health “Oversight of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Programs" hearing, chaired by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, with a copy of a letter signed by more than one hundred environmental justice networks, civil rights and human rights organizations, faith based groups, and health allies, representing millions of Americans from New York to Alaska, endorsing the 2007 United Church of Christ Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007 report findings and recommendations. The groups are calling for policy changes and actions by the government to reverse the downward spiral of environmental and health protection in low-income and people of color communities. To view the letter click HERE.

6/22/2007 Environmental Justice Activists to Hold Press Conference at USSF to Demand U.S. Officials End Toxic Racism
A dozen environmental justice networks, representing hundreds of African American, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Native American grassroots organizations from Alaska to Puerto Rico, will host a press conference at the United States Social Forum (USSF) Women, Healing, Health and Environmental Justice Tent (Atlanta Civic Center, 395 Piedmont Avenue) on Friday, June 29, at 11:00am, to demand U.S. officials, including Congressional leaders, the Presidential Candidates, and the Bush Administration, take immediate action to address environmental health emergencies in low-income and people of color communities. For more information please click HERE.

2/2/2005 Clark Atlanta University Launches Race and Regional Equity Initiative
A group of faculty at Clark Atlanta University has established an initiative aimed at supporting cutting edge research and policy work on race, smart growth, and equity issues in metropolitan regions where blacks are concentrated. The project will also target Historically Black Colleges and Universities for briefings, forums, lecture series, and research collaboratives. For more information please click HERE.

7/13/2004 Suburban sprawl and Transportation Racisim Subject of NAACP Convention Workshop
On Wednesday July 14, from 3:00pm -5:00pm at the National Constitution Center, a national panel of experts will convene the"Race, Taxes, and Metropolitan Equity Workshop." Other workshop panelists include Heaster Wheeler (Detroit NAACP), Carl Anthony (The Ford Foundation), Angela Glover Blackwell (PolicyLink, Inc.), Sheryll Cashin (Georgetown University Law Center), jon a. powell (Kirwan Institute for the Study of Rae and Ethnicity at Ohio State University). The event is co-sponsored by the Detroit NAACP, The Ford Foundation, and the African American Forum on Race and Regionalism (AAFRR). The AAFRR is a collaborative that works to strengthen the conversation among communities of color about metropolitan regional sustainability, transportation equity and mobility, environmental justice, economic investments, and strategic community development. For more information please click HERE.

8/27/2002 Blacks Call for Environmental Reparations at World Summit
More than three hundred environmental justice leaders from around the world gathered at the Shaft 17 Education Center in Johannesburg to participate in the Environmental Justice Forum. The four-day forum, sponsored by the South African-based Environmental Justice Networking Forum (EJNF), served as a pre-summit kick-off to the opening of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the Global People's Forum-a meeting of nongovernmental organizations that run parallel to the official government meeting. Please click HERE for more information

8/19/2002 HBCUs Supporting the National Black Environmental Justice Network Meet the Challenges of the WSSD
Representatives from two historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will assist the National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN) in participating in the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The NBEJN is a network of black groups that will attend this international summit to fight global environmental racism, eradicate poverty, and promote health and sustainable communities. The Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark University (directed by Robert D. Bullard) and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (directed by Dr. Beverly Wright) are assisting the NBEJN participate in the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). For a complete press release please click HERE.

7/8/2002 NBEJN Members Conduct EJ Workshop at 2002 NAACP Convention, Houston, Texas
Three representatives from the National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN) conducted an environmental justice workshop at the NAACP's Annual Convention that was held in Houston, Texas. Workshop panelists included professor Robert D. Bullard, environmental attorney Monique Harden, and longtime environmental justice activist Damu Smith. The speakers emphasized the importance of African Americans to impact public policy and decision making around smart growth, fair housing, transportation, environment protection, and health. To view a Houston Chronicle article that covered the meeting click HERE.

1/1/2002 MARTA'S Service Cuts Could Spell Doom for Many by Dr. Robert D. Bullard
Hundreds of transit riders packed the Atlanta City Hall chamber a little over a week ago to voice their opposition to MARTA's latest budget crisis "fix." Speaker after speaker expressed outrage over MARTA's plan to cut service. The most gripping testimony came from low-income, transit dependent, disabled, and elderly MARTA customers who view MARTA as a necessity, not a luxury. Several elected officials even questioned MARTA sensitivity and sincerity.

8/13/01 Environmental Justice Scholar to Address UN Racism and Public Policy Conference
August 13, 2001, Atlanta, GA - Robert D. Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, will deliver a paper on environmental racism at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) conference on "Racism and Public Policy" to be held from September 3-5 in Durban, South Africa. Click HERE to view highlights of Bullard's paper.

7/ 5/01 EJRC to Assist Pittsburgh Coalition with Transportation Equity
The Environmental Justice Resource Center (EJRC) at Clark Atlanta University received a $100,000 grant from the Heinz Endowments to assist local African American groups in Pittsburgh, PA address transportation disparities. The Pittsburgh Transportation Equity Project or PTEP is designed to encourage African American groups and community leaders become active players in transportation decision-making.

4/16/01 CAU Earth Week features International Climate Justice Speakers - April 19, 2001
As part of its Earth Week Celebration, the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University will host a Climate Justice Briefing at 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on April 19, 2001. The briefing will be held on campus in the Science Research Center, 223 James P. Brawley Drive.

Climate Justice integrally links human rights and ecological sustainability, recognizing that the communities fighting to live free of the environmental and social problems created by big oil are also at the front lines in the battle against climate change. The briefing is part of CorpWatch's, a San Francisco based organization working to hold corporations accountable on human rights, labor rights and environmental justice locally and globally, ongoing efforts to broaden the constituency of people in the United States active around climate change, and to inject an environmental justice and human rights perspective into the climate debate. The briefing will feature two speakers: Amit Srivastava and Oronto Douglas.

Amit Srivastava is the Climate Justice and International Programs Coordinator for CorpWatch. A native of India who grew up in Tanzania and now lives in the U.S., Amit works extensively with groups around the world, particularly in India, Japan and the U.S. Prior to joining CorpWatch in 1997, Amit worked as a Community Organizer with the Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA) in Oakland.

Oronto Douglas is co-founder and deputy director of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria. He was a member of the legal team that defended writer, environmental activist, and Nobel prize-nominated Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was hanged, along with eight others, by the Nigerian military regime in 1995. Douglas is an outspoken critic of Shell, Chevron, and other transnational oil companies for their ties with the Nigerian military and policies leading to environmental and cultural devastation. Click HERE to view the CorpWatch article Climate Justice From the Niger Delta to Cancer Alley An Interview with Oronto Douglas.

The briefing will be followed by a moderated discussion, aiming to link local and global problems as well as further elaborating on Climate Justice analysis. In addition to Atlanta, other Climate Justice Briefings are scheduled in San Francisco, San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Boulder. For more information on "Climate Justice and People of Color" see http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/climatechgpoc.html or contact the Environmental Justice Resource Center at ejrc@cau.edu or (404) 880-6914.

2/5/2001 Lecture Series on the Racial Inequities of Sprawl Commemorates Black History Month
The Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University will celebrate Black History Month by hosting a campus-wide Lecture/Meet the Authors of "Sprawl City" on Thursday, February 22nd from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Research Center for Science and Technology.
Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Ware Professor of Sociology at the University, along with co-authors Dr. Glenn S. Johnson and Angel O. Torres, will be present to discuss the book Sprawl City: Race, Politics and Planning in Atlanta. Sprawl City looks at the impact of random, unplanned growth - commonly known as "sprawl" - and its effect on economic and racial polarization. Sprawl-fueled growth is widening the gap between the region's 'haves' and 'have nots' and is pushing people farther and farther apart geographically, politically, economically, and racially.
Sprawl City tags Atlanta as the Sprawl "poster child," and examines the rising class and racial divisions underlying uneven growth and development. The book clearly demonstrates that suburban sprawl not only has social and economic consequences, but it also has environmental consequences. The authors will also discuss strategies that metro Atlanta's African Americans can use to begin addressing these problems.

The general public is invited to attend. For more information about the event, please call 404-880-6914.

1/4/2001 "Residential Apartheid" Selected as One of Five Best Books on Suburbia
Barnes and Nobles's Lingua Franca recently asked five experts to recommend the best recent books on suburbia. "Every subject has its defining books--works that are considered breakthroughs in their area of study-- and its experts who consider them so." We are pleased to have R.D. Bullard, J.E. Grigsby, and C. Lee RESIDENTIAL APARTHEID: THE AMERICAN LEGACY selected as one of the five best books on suburbia. It is written up in the following article. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bookshelf/academic/040400breakthrough1.asp. RESIDENTIAL APARTHEID (published by UCLA) was also named 1996 "Outstanding Book" by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. The book can be viewed at http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/caas/pubs/nresident.html.

12/5/2000 Atlanta Groups to Hold Press Briefing on Transit Racism Complaint Smart Growth Conference Provides Timely Platform
Representatives from the two-year old Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Equity Coalition (MATEC) will hold a press briefing on Wednesday December 6, 2000 at 10:30a.m. at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, 210 Peachtree Street, N.W., 8th Floor Atrium area. The briefing is held to explain the transit racism complaint eleven black Atlanta organizations filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation against the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). On Thursday, November 30, the MATEC groups filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. DOT on behalf of their minority and disabled members.

12/1/2000 Atlanta's Transit Agency Hit with Discrimination Complaint Click HERE to read the complaint
The MATEC organizations charged MARTA with racial discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They also cite MARTA for failing to comply with the federally mandated Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

12/1/2000 MARTA Taps Black to Head Transit Agency
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Authority (MARTA) board voted on its top three candidates for general manager. All three candidates are African American: Nathaniel Ford (Executive Vice President of Operations at MARTA); Robert Prince (GM at Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority), and Gordon Linton (former head of the Federal Transit Administration). The MARTA board selected Nathaniel Ford to run the $300 million transit agency.

11/19/2000 Alternate Summit Opens with Call for Climate Justice- The Hague-In sharp contrast to the formal climate negotiations, representatives of communities affected by the fossil fuel industry, countries threatened by global warming's rising tides and grassroots groups working for international environmental justice opened the First Climate Justice Summit today.

10/26/2000, Robert D. Bullard & Clark Atlanta University Receive Awards at 10th ECO Conference Awards Dinner, Atlanta, GA - Dr. Robert D. Bullard and Clark Atlanta University received awards at the Environmental Career Organization (ECO) Diversity Initiative 10th Anniversary Gala Awards Dinner. The awards represent their achievement in diversifying the environmental field as well as providing a long-term impact and permanent change in the nation's environmental community. Professor Bullard has made significant contributions in opening career doors for the environmental justice professionals now and in the future. Clark Atlanta University (CAU) has played an instrumental role in providing the learning and training facilities for people of color students, faculty, professionals, and grassroots leaders for environmental careers. Both were given recognition for their commitment to environmental stewardship. Dr. Bullard was praised for his groundbreaking research in environmental justice that now has national and international recognition and CAU was given high regards for being at the forefront of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in addressing environmental problems and working toward environmental justice in communities of color.

10/9/2000 Environmental Racism in the Alabama Blackbelt by Robert D. Bullard
Alabama is a major "dumping ground" for garbage. The state's 25 dumps take in over 31,500 tons of waste daily. Alabamans generate only about one-third of the landfills' capacity. The other two-thirds come from out-of-state garbage. Because Alabama uses garbage as a revenue generator, it has done a lousy job in addressing environmental justice and equity issues.

7/31/2000 Volume 2, Number 1, Summer, 2000
The Summer 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 1) issue of the Transportation Equity Newsletter is devoted to race and public transit in metropolitan Atlanta. The newsletter examines equity questions of who pays and who benefits from the 25-year old Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA. It also examines the impact of the recent MARTA fare hike on low-income, transit dependent, and people of color riders. To view the PDF file of the newsletter click here [Transportation Equity Newsletter].

6/30/2000 The 2000 People of Color Environmental Groups Directory is now avaialable via this website and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, 1200 Mott Foundation Building, Flint, MI 45802-1851. You may also call their publications request line: (800) 645-1766 (US, Canada) (414) 273-9643 (elsewhere). E-mail: infocenter@mott.org Web site: www.mott.org

6/20/2000 MARTA Fares Become Most Expensive in Nation
Citizens of Atlanta, Fulton, and DeKalb have invested 25 years in a one-cent sales tax in building the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA, the eighth largest transit system in the nation. On Monday, the MARTA board approved a $307 million operating budget that raises its one-way cash fare from $1.50 to $1.75-a 17 percent increase. MARTA's existing $1.50 cash fare is the second highest of all major U.S. urban transit operators. Atlantans now pay more to ride public transit than such high cost cities as Los Angeles-where a civil rights lawsuit by the Bus Riders Union successfully beat back a fare hike. The one-way cash fare in Los Angeles is only $1.35. Moving to a $1.75 one way cash fare will make MARTA the most expensive transit ride in the nation. Considering cost of living, MARTA's cash fare was already the highest in the nation. Since the 15¢ fare ended in 1979, MARTA's adult cash fare has increased ten-fold. Factoring in cost of living changes, it has increased over 300%.

6/16/2000 Groups Turn out to Block MARTA Fare Hike
More than 70 neighborhood associations, civic clubs, civil rights groups, environmental organizations, and elected officials attended a community briefing on Wednesday, to learn about the impact that a proposed fare hike would have on MARTA's poor, transit dependent, and people of color riders.The Wednesday evening briefing was held at the Environmental Justice Resource Center on the campus of Clark Atlanta University.

6/13/2000 EJRC Hosts Community and Press Briefing on MARTA Fare Hike
The Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University will hold a Community and Press Briefing on Wednesday June 14th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm to present its findings on the proposed MARTA fare hike. The briefing will be held in Room # 1036 in the Science Research Building at Clark Atlanta University (223 James P. Brawley Drive). The objectives of the briefings are fourfold: (1) to inform the public on why a MARTA fare increase is not required and is not needed in FY01 and FY02; (2) to set the record straight on MARTA's legal mandate re its fare structure and operating costs, i.e., the 35% and 50% test, (3) to present the findings of the center's independent analysis of the MARTA budget structure; and (4) to explore next steps and possible options available to the community groups in light of the upcoming MARTA board vote to be taken on Monday June 19th.

6/12/2000 The 2000 People of Color Directory of Environmental Groups is now available via the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. To request a directory, contact: Publications request line: (800) 645-1766 (US, Canada) (414) 273-9643 (elsewhere). E-mail: infocenter@mott.org Web site: www.mott.org

5/26/2000 MARTA Urged to Scrap Fare Hike Proposal
The long-awaited vote on the fare increase failed to pass the MARTA board Thursday by one vote. The meeting room, held at MARTA headquarters, was filled with customers whose yellow signs urged the board to "Vote No" on the fare hike. "The five Board members who voted against the proposed fare increases are applauded for allowing for more equitable solutions to be considered. We hope the recommendations we have made are given serious consideration after the board action on Thursday," said Sherrill Marcus, a member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Equity Coalition.

5/9/2000 South DeKalb Leaders Host Transportation Town Hall Meeting -- Concerned about Atlanta's growing transportation dilemma and the potential negative impact on the African American community, residents from South DeKalb came out for a town hall meeting. The meeting, held at Georgia Perimeter College &endash; South Campus, was organized and chaired by State Senator Connie Stokes and Representative Henrietta Turnquest.

5/2/2000 MARTA Pushing Fares to Become Most Expensive in the Nation
ATLANTA, GA, May 2, 2000-The Environmental Justice Resource Center (EJRC) at Clark Atlanta University issued a preliminary report of MARTA's proposed fare increase. A public hearing is scheduled May 3, 2000 to discuss MARTA's proposal to raise one-way cash fares from $1.50 to $1.75, a 16.7 percent increase. The proposal also calls for increasing the weekly transit pass from $12 to $13 (a 8.3 percent increase). Monthly passes would jump from $45 to $52.50 (a 16.7 percent increase) and half-price senior citizens cash fare would increase from 75 cents to 85 cents (an 13.3 percent increase).

5/1/2000 EJRC Launches New Transportation Equity Newsletter
The Environmental Justice Resource Center launched the inaugural Spring 2000 issue of its Transportation Equity newsletter. The newsletter is part of the center's Atlanta Transportation Equity Project (ATEP). It covers a range of issues including environmental justice, transportation investments and civil rights, air quality and public health, the Los Angeles-Atlanta transit connection, shortcomings of Atlanta regional planning, news on suburban sprawl, new films, videos, and books. To view the newsletter you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

2/25/2000 -The Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University hosted a premiere showing of Academy Award cinematographer Haskell Wexlers' Bus Riders Union, a new documentary that traces three years in the life of the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union's frontal assault on transit racism in the nation second largest city. The Bus Riders Union film has important implications for multiethnic organizing around transportation equity issues in Metro Atlanta. read the full article

1/8/2000 New Book! Sprawl City: Race, Politics, and Planning in Atlanta. (Island Press, May 2000, ISBN# 1559637900) by Robert D. Bullard, Glenn S. Johnson, and Angel O. Torres
A serious but often overlooked impact of the random, unplanned growth --commonly known as "sprawl" -- that has come to dominate the American landscape is its effect on economic and racial polarization. Sprawl-fueled growth pushes people further apart geographically, politically, economically, and socially. Atlanta, Georgia is experiencing one of the most severe cases of sprawl in the country, and offers a striking example of sprawl-induced stratification.

2/28/1999- On January 20, 2000 Dr. Robert Bullard gave a virtual lecture at Mercer University's School of Law entitled: Environmental Justice: Strategies for Creating Healthy and Sustainable Communities. Click on the following link to view his lecture. http://merlin.law.mercer.edu/elaw/rbullard.htm

1/1999 New Study Finds Urban Sprawl Heightens Racial Disparities
ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- A new study from the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University examines the impact of urban sprawl on communities in the ten-county Atlanta metropolitan region.