South Ward Environmental Alliance (SWEA) held it's 2nd Annual Environmental Summit on Saturday, April 22nd. The conference was attended by 176 participants who were served breakfast and lunch. The opening performance by NJPAC artists included the Black National Anthem and African drumming to give honor and homage to the ancestors. Congressman Donald Payne, Jr welcomed the participants via video. He highlighted his environmental priorities and support of SWEA's work in the South Ward.

Kim Gaddy, Executive  Director led the Plenary session which included remarks from EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia, NJDEP Commissioner  Shawn LaTourette and South Ward Councilman Patrick Council. Each panelists spoke on the importance of residents ensuring their voices are heard at the local, state and national level to stop the pollution impacting their quality of life.  The Air Monitoring moderator Asada Rashidi introduced panelist Vivek Ravichandran from the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Jusitce, and Health at the University of Maryland to provide some updates on an ongoing academic-community-government partnership between SWEA, Friends of Earth, NJDEP, and EOSHI-Rutgers University in regards to the development of a hyper local air quality monitoring network in the South Ward.  Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is important to study because these particles are small enough (under 2.5 microns in diameter) to enter your bloodstream and this leads to a wide array of cardiovascular and respiratory health outcomes that follow socio demographic lines such as asthma, COPD, and stroke. Another common term in the  EJ space is Traffic-Related Air Pollution (TRAP), which consists of emissions from cars, trucks, and airplanes. In addition to air pollution, TRAP can decrease quality of life with excessive noise which can impact sleep duration and stress.

Azania Heyward-James introduced the The D.A.P.P. a culturally reflective and relevant moniker that stands for Translating Health and Environmental Community Data for Actionable Practice and Prevention  SWEA’s  newly developed  community resource and tool to deliver understandable information about the environmental justice and equity work. 

Luis Lim, Chief Bureau of Air Monitoring, NJDEP  discussed how to engage with NJDEP and their role in community monitoring. Lastly, he discussed what were lessons learned in this Hyper Local Air Monitoring project and how this project can be replicated in other EJ communities.

The last two panels focused on Reflections from United Nations Conference of Parties 27; Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Path to COP 28 and Voices from the Next Generation of EJ Leaders. Miaisha Mitchell, Dr. Amandla Shabaka-Haynes Michelle Dawkins and Azania Heyward-James discussed the lessons learned at COP 27 and how we can prepare our community for COP 28 by thinking globally and acting locally. The Voices of the Next Generation panel, Tiarra Lee, Asada Rashidi, Tolani Taylor and Chris Tandazo  discussed their respective roles and why they are engaged in the environmental justice work. The passion and commitment was evident through their discussions on topics of environmental education, air quality, climate and water justice. Newark and New Jersey look out for these future advocates who are ready to lead and fight for Environmental Justice. The conference concluded with the sounds of the Essex and Union County Marching band. Thank you for participating and looking forward to seeing you next year!

National Action Network Convention 2023 

On April 24th, The Coalition for Healthy Ports embarked on an Environmental Justice Bus Tour. The tour was coordinated by South Ward Environmental Alliance Environmental Justice Organizer, Asada Rashidi, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance Program Manager, Dyna Anderson, Ironbound Community Corporation Environmental Justice Organizer, Chloe Desir, and Clean Water Action NJ Zero Emissions Warehouse Organizer, Tolani Taylor. 

The EJ tour traveled through the Port of Newark, the Dayton Street Neighborhood of the South Ward and Ironbound section of East Ward. The purpose of the tour was to educate and inform residents and partner organizations about the hefty amount of industrial facilities and trucks that contribute significantly to the decline in the quality of life of Newark residents. The community members that live in the South and East ward, experience a disproportionate amount of pollution on a daily basis. The polluters are literally in their backyards. These conditions would not be acceptable in more affluent neighborhoods yet populations with people of color and lower incomes are subjected to these circumstances. The EJ Tours serve as motivation to uplift these environmental injustices and strengthen the fight to cultivate healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.

Connect With Us!