On Wednesday, June 26, Natural Resources Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) are hosting an environmental justice summit at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium. This all-day event will convene policymakers, environmental leaders and practitioners to educate Congressional staff on the history and context of the environmental justice (EJ) movement, discuss current challenges and policy priorities for EJ practitioners and frontline community-based organizations, and connect policymakers and EJ advocates across the country.

This event is part of Chair Grijalva’s larger efforts to elevate the voices of communities traditionally left out of the policy-making process. Since becoming Ranking Member of the Committee in 2015, Grijalva has held multiple environmental justice listening sessions, most recently in New Mexico and Puerto Rico, and a Democratic forum on the issue for Black History Month.

The first convening of its kind, this summit will provide a venue for community activists and environmental justice practitioners to communicate their needs to members of Congress and their staff, who will commit directly to addressing longstanding inequities in economically oppressed and politically marginalized communities. The conversation will produce a set of principles to inform environmental justice legislation to be introduced later this Congress.

Those interested in attending as participants should register here. 

Press interested in attending should RSVP to monica.sanchez@mail.house.gov by 1:00 p.m. Eastern on June 25, 2019.

Event Details

What: Environmental Justice Convening

When: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on June 26, 2019

Where: Congressional Auditorium, CVC 200

Who: Chair Grijalva, Rep. McEachin, other lawmakers and environmental justice experts from across the country

Livestream Details: 

Morning Session: http://bit.ly/2FrZWVu

Afternoon Session: http://bit.ly/2xhVKTr