Environmental Justice Work Spans Generations at the 2nd Annual SEEJ Summit

The Southeast Environmental Justice (SEEJ) Summit came back swinging for the second ever year of the gathering, and we hope you were able to attend! The summit, hosted by Harambee House and held in Atlanta from June 28 to July 1, brought in nonprofits, community advocates, businesses, government agencies, academics, and youth from across the Southeast region to discuss environmental justice issues and an unprecedented amount of funding for these issues coming down from the federal level.

Federal Funding

Representatives from federal agencies were present to promote grant opportunities and provide technical assistance, for example the Department of Energy advertised funding opportunities from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

RCE member and organizer for the summit Pamela Fann states, “The specialized focus on providing live technical assistance was also a very important focus of this summit. There are a lot of funding opportunities out there and our federal teams did an amazing job presenting the material, and then the TAs were there to provide that support.”

The summit, as is necessary in these conversations, was still a two way street; community members were able to give live feedback on this funding. Audience and presenters alike voiced concerns over funds not getting to designated disadvantaged areas, showing the need for summits like this to facilitate communication between agencies and communities.

Youth Engagement

Another highlight of the summit for RCE members was the intergenerational aspect. For Ms. Fann, the youth engagement was crucial to putting together the summit. “We put intentionality into ensuring that we would include their perspectives this year with the youth panel discussions, youth keynotes, and a full 3-day youth track.”

RCE students in attendance felt this shift come through. “This year’s summit was definitely a game changer,” states Amani Allen-Beale, an RCE Student Coordinator and President of the Black Student Union at Georgia Gwinnett College. “Last year we got to experience and hear from elders who have been doing this work for years and people who have been in their career for a long time. However, this year was a strong focus on the young people like myself who are passionate about environmental justice and are getting their foot in the door in new career fields.”

Young people emerging in environmental justice careers were showcased in the youth panel, held on the second day of the summit. The youth panel fielded questions on intergenerational work and featured panelists such as Diamond Spratling, RCE member and founder of Girl Plus Environment, a non-profit empowering Black and Brown girls, women, and non-binary individuals to stand up for environmental justice.

Georgia Tech student Janice Kim, currently working as an intern for the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) found the summit inspirational, but “especially the youth panel.” The segment helped broaden her idea of environmental justice, as Janice states, “the youth panel showed me that you do not necessarily have to have that STEM background to be involved. There are a variety of ways to integrate humanities into environmental justice as it is a SOCIAL justice issue.” Janice and Amani were two of several students in the SCoRE Internship Program, pictured below, that were able to attend the summit.

In addition to being proud of the youth attendees for being part of the summit, Ms. Fann is excited for how the inclusion of youth in these spaces will spread the conversation of environmental justice further. She concludes, “I enjoyed hearing all of their [the youth attendees'] experiences in this movement and what their fears and hopes were for their future. In addition, they continued to speak on how they will share the messaging from the conference with their peers.”

If you were able to attend the SEEJ Summit, old, young, or anywhere in between, we hope you continue to share your takeaways with those around you to spread the message. Many thanks to everyone who played a role in planning the summit, presenting, or sharing their perspectives during a memorable weekend.