For communities around the country, environmental justice staff at the EPA and other federal agencies along with grantee organizations embody many of the most cherished and important values held in our society. They protect our health and our environment. They serve as public servants deeply concerned about the wellbeing of others, especially the most vulnerable.
As one of the bodies that helped launch the Environmental Justice Movement in the United States, the United Church of Christ (UCC) is committed to honoring these public servants in a time of uncertainty about the future of federal environmental justice programs.
In this service, we will honor those working on environmental justice with gratitude. We will gather together in strength, comfort, and solidarity as we renew our collective resilience as an ongoing movement.
Selected environmental justice staff will provide messages, along with environmental justice pioneers including:
- Charles Lee, retired Senior Policy Advisor for Environmental Justice at EPA
- Richard Moore, former Co-Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
- Dollie Burwell, leader of Warren County, North Carolina protests
- Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., former director of United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice
The service will be led by the Rev. Terry Yasuko Ogawa, Area Conference Minister, SNEUCC and former UCC Dr. Charles E. Cobb Environmental Justice Resident.
If you are unable to make the service at the scheduled time, a link to the recording will be sent to all those who register.