Springfield Environmental Expo Will Highlight Intersection Of Environment And Injustice

 Source: Neighbor to Neighbor

The Springfield Environmental Expo aims to shine light on the injustices experienced by the communities disproportionately affected by decisions made by leaders who have neglected clean air, transparent government, and the health and well-being of local children and seniors.  The expo is part of Climates of Inequality and will consist of a month-long series of workshops and talks hosted by local environmental and social justice organizations. It will cover topics ranging from housing justice to the history of labor, food insecurity to basic organizing skills. It will also feature the story of the community’s vision for the Gerena School, which has been a site of environmental injustice that has put children’s and communities’ health at risk.  

Expo events will run from May 17, 2021 to June 15, 2021 on Zoom. Register for workshops at the expo’s website here.

These workshops are meant to be a platform for local residents to learn about the problems they face and the systems that are affecting them so that they may exercise agency in engaging with decision makers who possess the influence and resources to improve their material conditions.

The Expo is sponsored by Neighbor to Neighbor, UMass Amherst Public History Program, Community Action Works, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Arise for Social Justice, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, Lower Valley Mutual Aid, League of Women Voters, Livewell Springfield, Springfield Climate Justice Coalition, The Resistance Center, Springfield No One Leaves

For More Information:
Environmental Expo website

Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice , is an on-line multimedia installation involving over 500 students, educators, and advocates in more than 20 cities nationally and internationally, including Springfield, telling stories about the layers of history behind environmental justice in their communities.  It is a project of the Humanities Action Lab, a coalition of universities led by Rutgers University-Newark working to produce community- curated public projects on the past, present, and future of pressing social issues. The Springfield story, a collaboration between Neighbor2Neighbor and the UMass Amherst Public History Program, focuses on the impact of the building of I-91 through Springfield’s North End.  

Contacts:
Zulma Rivera, Neighbor to Neighbor
Zulma@n2nma.org

Mireille Bejjani, Community Action Works
mireille@communityactionworks.org