Environmental racism will be the hot topic at the 7th Annual Environmental and Economic Justice Conference, where featured speakers such as former Green Party vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke will share problems of their respective communities.
The annual conference, titled “The Environment Sees No Color,” begins at 6 p.m. today in the EMU Ballroom and will continue with events Saturday and Sunday.
LaDuke, who has stepped into a whirlpool of environmental and economic policy issues since her last visit to the University four years ago, is tonight’s key speaker. She said she plans to address environmental issues that will surface in the years to come.
“I will speak about the challenge of facing the new millennium, in terms of where we are and reconciling relations with the environment and each other,” she said.
The Coalition Against Environmental Racism (CAER) organizes the event. The group is unique because it tackles environmental issues from the local to the international level, but focuses on how communities of color fit into the wide variety of environmental problems.
CAER director Glen Banfield said the relationship between the environment and racism will be one of the conference’s biggest themes, because most people don’t understand how the two relate. Banfield said environmental racism occurs when industries place themselves in areas where “disenfranchised” people live, because those residents usually don’t have the power to make changes or voice their health concerns.
He mentioned that many industrial regions are in communities of color in big cities because residents are minorities or live in poverty, and not because of the land’s geology.
“Race and economics [are] the No. 1 indicator of where America is dumping garbage and polluting the air and water,” he said. “Most people have no idea how to make that connection.”
Banfield also said the conference will unite people who can share their personal experiences with environmental racism and speak about successful strategies to overcome injustices in communities.
CAER member Kristen Stiegler said because of Oregon’s homogeneous population, many local residents aren’t exposed to environmental racism issues. She said during the coming weekend, students will gain insight on community of color issues that are overlooked by the mainstream media.
LaDuke, author and program director for Honor the Earth Fund, a national foundation that supports Native American environmental work, is the star of this year’s conference.
Named by Time Magazine in 1994 as one of America’s 50 most promising leaders under the age of 40, LaDuke currently lives on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota and works on restoring local land base and culture.
Although she was the running mate of former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader and caused great controversy in last year’s chaotic election, LaDuke said she stayed out of the limelight and kept a less rigorous schedule, mainly because of her 11-month-old son, Gwekaanimid Gasco.
But LaDuke will take time out of her life as a busy mother and activist to speak at the University.
Banfield said CAER requested LaDuke’s presence partly because of her influential speech at the conference in 1997. He added that her personal struggles with environmental racism in Native American communities give her a strong background to speak from.
“She touched a lot of people,” he said. “I remember what a powerful message she had to share.”
Law professor and CAER co-founder Robin Morris-Collin will also speak tonight. One of her main concerns is President George W. Bush’s new administration, which Morris-Collin said is promoting to top positions people who are committed to “representing corporations that make profit out of extraction and pollution.”
“This conference can help build networks that will strengthen labor, environmental justice and civil rights coalitions,” she said. “We can learn from one another and be supportive for the coming years.”
Morris-Collin, who has written many articles related to “sustainability and equity,” added that the toxins corporations produce cause health problems that everyone should be concerned about.
“Pollution doesn’t just affect nature, it affects human beings,” she said. “Toxins pollute the water we drink and air we breathe, and we’re getting this from cumulative exposure.”
Along with speakers, the conference will include panels, workshops and films to demonstrate environmental racism issues and explain ways people can make a difference. Panel sessions will have discussions on related topics such as the Bush administration, children’s health and environmental justice, and sovereignty and Native American treaties.
“When we’re talking about environmental justice, we’re talking about equality and justice for everyone in this country,” Banfield said.