New NAACP leader accelerates fight for environmental justice with and for communities

Decades of systemic racism and neglect of infrastructure came to a head this year in Jackson, Mississippi, when flooding damaged a water treatment plant and cut off the city's water supply. It was the latest emergency for a water system with a long history of problems and mismanagement and a community where more than 80 percent of residents are black — and prompted the NAACP to file a civil rights lawsuit.

This is a step in the organization's expansion into environmental advocacy and climate justice as part of its civil rights work. As the accelerating climate crisis affects communities around the world, especially those home to low-income and underserved populations, more people are recognizing the long-term effects of where people live. and work on their personal well-being. The NAACP and other organizations partner with residents of Jackson and other communities to advocate for equitable resources to ensure they have access to the basics of healthy living: water and looks pure. Safe neighborhoods with sidewalks. Resilient sources of energy and transportation.

As part of this expanded civil rights work, the NAACP recently welcomed Abre'Conner as its first Director of Environmental and Climate Justice. The role combines her previous professional experience as an attorney for organizations such as the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, with her personal experience growing up in Lakeland, Florida, a rural area between Tampa and Orlando with a history of poor air quality.

As a child with respiratory problems, Conner felt the effects of the polluted environment around her. "I didn't quite understand the connection between growing up in a rural southern community in a place of, say, toxic waste incinerators and poor air quality and the direct impact on my health. “, she said. "But what I realized later was that there was this direct impact."

This realization – and the belief that environmental justice work is an inherently local issue – drove her ambition to pursue a career in civil rights and work for and with others like her. At the NAACP, Conner and others aim to turn the system around so that those most affected in times of crisis — especially black women and children — are also the ones helping to create and advance solutions. Rather than speaking on behalf of affected communities, Conner said the ALCU and partner organizations want to connect citizens who have typically been left out of this process with policymakers and others in power, thereby enhancing transparency. , confidence and resilience.

"What I've noticed over the years is who's been left out of conversations about environmental decisions. Are people actually from black communities? These are some of the opportunities we're trying to make available," she said, noting a recent example where members of the community testified before members of Congress. "It was important to us that people from our state conferences and branches participate to congressional federal policy conversations - we don't necessarily need our lobbyists, our staff in this space."

To strengthen and expand this community advocacy, the NAACP is working with a group of environmental climate justice leaders across the country — and this work is making a difference, Conner said. “We asked them what data was important to them and what was missing. We were pleased to see some of these changes reflected in the most recent version of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool from the White House Council on Environmental Quality,” she said. . “We think that's how we can build energy. In fact, we speak and hear people: what do you see? What do you think is missing? These are the stories that we try to make sure we integrate. »

Recently, I spoke with Conner about his new role and work for environmental justice — in Jackson and elsewhere — as part of my research on a more inclusive economy. Find excerpts from our conversation below.

Chris Marquis: What drew you to working on climate and environmental justice? And how did you end up in your current role?

Abre' Conner, Director of Environmental and Climate Justice at the NAACP< /p> CHRISTOPHER POLLARD

Abre' Conner: I grew up in a rural part of Florida between Tampa and Orlando, and I had respiratory issues growing up. I didn't fully understand the connection of growing up in a rural southern community...