Release of Our Power film
February 11, 2014
Our Power Campaign: Communities Uniting for a Just Transition
February 11 is the 20th anniversary of President Bill Clinton's Environmental Justice Executive Order. This order was a critical milestone: official acknowledgement of environmental racism and the disproportionate impact that frontline communities of color and low-income communities face from toxic pollution.
Frontline communities continue to lead the fight for environmental justice and a powerful new alliance is emerging to confront one of the greatest environmental injustices of our times: the destabilization of our climate. We want to share with you a powerful short film about an exciting new initiative: the Our Power Campaign!
The film highlights the Campaign in general, but specifically focuses on the Our Power gathering in Black Mesa, AZ (June 2013). Called From the Mesa to the Mountain Top: Climate Justice in Coal Country, the gathering focused on frontline communities impacted by coal: from coal extraction to false solutions promoted by industry, such as natural gas and clean coal. In the video representatives of the Black Mesa Water Coalition speak about their important campaign involving water access and energy production. Other members of the Climate Justice Alliance, including EMEAC's Ife Kilimanjaro, speak briefly about coal in their communities.
The second Our Power gathering will be held in Detroit, June 2014, and is focused on scaling up the leadership and presence of youth and young adults in generating solutions for a just transition from reliance on exploitative, unsustainable practices and policies to those that are sustainable and nurture healthy communities. For more information or to get involved, contact Ife Kilimanjaro at ife[at]emeac.org.
EMEAC is a member of and serves on the Steering Committee of the Climate Justice Alliance, a collaborative of community-based and movement support organizations uniting frontline communities to forge a scalable, socially and economically just transition away from unsustainable energy and false solutions to climate change.
