24 Black Environmentalists to Know in 2024

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services would like to highlight these twenty-four champions of the environment in honor of Black History Month 2024. As an organization dedicated to uplifting the voices of underserved communities, Fair Shake celebrates their contributions to the fight for environmental justice and conservation. Whether new to the fight for our environment like youth animal rights activist Genesis Butler or a cornerstone of the movement for decades like Dr. Robert Bullard, these advocates inspire us to live in harmony with our planet and to fiercely protect the places where we live, work, and play.

Alexis Nikole Nelson – Also known as the Black Forager on social media, Alexis has garnered the attention of millions for her tips on foraging and cooking with wild plants. Alexis is from Columbus, Ohio, and started her social media account during the pandemic to encourage people to take agency over the food that they eat and make the most out of the free food that was available in the wild. You can learn more about her work by following her on TikTok, instagram, or Patreaon! https://www.instagram.com/blackforager/

Yvonka Marie Hall, MPA and Lashale Pugh, PhD -- Ms. Hall and Dr. Pugh are the Executive Director and Asst. Executive Director/Research & Evaluation Director respectively of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition. Through this nonprofit, they serve on average serves 10,000 community members, have led advocacy efforts to enact Cleveland’s first ever Lead Safe Housing Ordinance, and organized a ballot initiative to pass the Cleveland Lead Safe Certificate Ordinance. To learn more about their upcoming programming, check the calendar on their website: https://www.neoblackhealthcoalition.org/community

Robert Bullard – Nicknamed the “Father of Environmental Justice,” Mr. Bullard helped craft the inception of the environmental justice movement and remains involved today as a Board member of National Black Environmental Justice Network. Mr. Bullard was a planner of the National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit which has been described as one of the most important events in the history of the environmental justice movement. This summit occurred over 4 days and established 17 principles of environmental justice. To learn more about the importance of these principles, please view the Young, Gifted, and Green Documentary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/younggiftedgreen/videos/700512711070786

Dr. Beverly Wright – Dr. Wright grew up near industrial operations and witnessed their polluting effects. As an environmental justice scholar and advocate, she created the first-ever environmental justice center in the United States, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), and developed the first environmental justice map between pollutants and race. To learn more about her many accolades and receive email updates from the DSCEJ, check out: https://www.dscej.org/our-story/our-team/beverly-l-wright-phd

Richard Diaz – Richard, who is described by his peers as someone who brings the best out in people, has spent years raising awareness and shaping policy around lead poisoning in his hometown of Milwaukee. Richard co-founded a non-profit called Coalition on Lead Emergency. The non-profits success and his work on civic engagement with the Blue Green Alliance, led Sierra Club to recognize him as the 2022 Environmental Hero. To learn more about Richard and his work, check out: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/12/29/milwaukees-richard-diaz-fights-lead-risks-with-environmental-justice/69689023007/

Karen Washington – Karen’s advocacy work began as she connected with other urban farmers in New York City. This coalition launched a farmers' market and organized to prevent the sale of farmers plots. This work was only the foundation of her enduring leadership and contributions to the food system; including co-founding the Black Urban Growers, co-founding the Farm School NYC, and the Black Farmer Fund. To learn more about her work, check out: https://www.karenthefarmer.com/about

Reverend Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll – Reverend Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll believes in the power of Black churches to build healthier communities. This led him to co-found and serve as the CEO of Green the Church, a nonprofit dedicated to educating congregations and faith leaders on how environmental justice issues affect their community and building power for change. To learn more about his work or enroll your congregation, visit: https://www.greenthechurch.org/

Eloris Speight – Ms. Speight has made significant contributions to building equity in agricultural law through her work as the Executive Director of The Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR) Policy Research Center located at Alcorn State University. As Executive Director, Ms. Speight oversees research and the development of policy recommendations while conducting strategic outreach to ensure farmers have a voice in the policies that affect them. To hear more from Ms. Speight about her work, check out an interview conducted on Ag+Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKiR2HUwWtQ

Lori Caldwell – Lori is a self-taught edible gardener that has built a professional company teaching sustainable gardening practices and transforming yards. As the Owner and Operater of CompostGal Consulting, Landscaping & Education, Lori’s mission is to “to connect people to the soil and all that it provides.” Follow her Facebook page to stay tuned for virtual events: https://www.facebook.com/LoriCaldwellConsultingEducation/

Leah Penniman – Leah pushes back against food apartheid through activism, education, and farming. Leah co-founded and operates Soul Fire Farm which utilizes Afro-indigenous methods to farm 80 acres, and then delivers that food on a weekly basis to the doorsteps of people living under food apartheid. Soul Fire Farm also manages an immersion program for new farms to share their growing skills in a supportive environment. To support her work and learn more, you can buy her book “Farming While Black—Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land” or check out the website for ways to get involved: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/get-involved/

Norrel Hemphill – A native to Flint and raised in Detroit, Norrel experienced firsthand water issues. In a powerful presentation, Norrel previously stated “We don’t wait for anybody to parachute in, we don’t wait for permission, we don’t wait for a door or somebody to offer us something. We make demands.” Today, she continues her work in the fight for water affordability by uplifting the experiences of her community and providing direct legal representation and policy advocacy in Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes region. To learn more about her work, check out: https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/fellows/norrel-hemphill/

Leah Thomas is the Founder of Intersectional Environmentalist and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist:  How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet.  All of this work serves to be a platform and resource hub to advocate for environmental justice, and provide educational resources surrounding intersectional environmental education. To learn more, check out: Intersectional Environmentalist.

Instagram: Intersectional Environmentalist

Facebook: Intersectional Environmentalist

LaTricea Adams is the Founder + CEO, and president of Black Millennials 4 Flint (now Young, Gifted & Green), a national environmental justice and civil rights organization with the purpose of bringing like-minded organizations together to collectively take action and advocate against the crisis of lead exposure specifically in African American & Latinx communities throughout the nation. LaTricea, a proud HBCU graduate, is the youngest African American woman appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). She serves on the American Bar Association’s Environmental Justice Task Force and was a recent honoree of the Environment, Energy, & Resources Section’s Dedication to Diversity and Justice. Learn more by checking out: Young, Gifted, & Green

Instagram: Young, Gifted, & Green

Facebook: Young, Gifted, & Green

Jerome Foster Ⅱ: an Environmental Justice Advisory Council member and the youngest White House advisor ever. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Waic Up, a news and civic nonprofit empowering people to take meaningful action. Representing marginalized and working-class communities, Foster’s inspiring activism targets social, economic, and environmental justice.

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How Jerome Foster II Is Representing Gen Z in the White House (Video)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txO4svGd1pw

Corina Newsome: a wildlife conservation scientist at the National Wildlife Federation dedicated to integrating environmental justice and conservation science. She co-organized Black Birders Week to connect marginalized communities with nature and increase the representation and visibility of Black conservationists.

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Corina Newsome on Ornithology: Faces of Change (Video)

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The Zero Sum of it All with Corina Newsome (Podcast)

Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru is a Kenyan-American climate storyteller passionate about bringing empathetic and accessible climate communication to the mainstream. Harnessing her academic background as a Rhodes Scholar and her work as a youth climate activist, Wawa’s life goal is to help create a climate movement made in the image of all of us. She is the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, a national organization dedicated to empowering Black girls, women and non-binary people across the climate sector.

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 Rue Mapp is the founder and CEO of OutdoorAfro, a not-for-profit organization on a mission to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. With over 100 leaders in 56 cities across the country, OutdoorAfro is committed to connecting people to nature experiences. Also a recipient of the 24th Heinz Award for the Environment, Jefferson Award, and National Conservation Achievement Award for Communications, Mapp is a well-respected public land advocate, author, and inspirational speaker.

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Mikaela Loach is a climate justice advocate based in Scotland. She has been nominated for the Global Citizen Prize, the U.K.’s Hero Award. Loach is the co-producer, writer, and presenter of the Yikes podcast which talks about climate change, social justice, and human rights. She is one of the claimants who took the U.K. government to court, challenging the Oil & Gas Association’s policy and the government subsidies it received for work in the North Sea.

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The YIKES Podcast

Nyeema Harris is the Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation at the Yale School of the Environment. She received her PhD from North Carolina State University studying the biogeography of carnivores and their parasites. Currently, her research explores carnivore behavior and movement, ecology, and conservation in urban systems.

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Genesis Butler is a young environmental and animal rights activist. She is one of the youngest people to ever give a TEDx talk. Butler’s TEDx talk “A 10 year old’s vision for healing the planet” explores the negative impact of animal agriculture on the environment.

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TEDx Talk

John Francis known as the Planetwalker, is a pioneering environmentalist. After helping to clean up an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay in the early seventies Mr. Francis disavowed motor vehicles and began travelling on foot. Mr. Francis walked for over twenty years, crossing the continental United States, and walking to South America before using a motor vehicle again in the early nineties. He has written several books about his experience and currently teaches environmental studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. https://planetwalk.org/about-john/

Jerome Ringo is an environmental advocate with a focus on clean energy and quality jobs. After working for years in the petro-chemical industry, Mr. Ringo saw firsthand the impacts of pollution from the industry on surrounding communities and began educating communities on how to redress harms from the industry. Mr. Ringo was the first African American to chair a major conservation advocacy group, the National Wildlife Federation, and currently leads the renewable energy developer Zoetic Global. https://www.zoeticglobal.com

Maya Penn – Gen Z climate activist who, at 8 years old, created Maya’s Ideas, which is her sustainable fashion brand. She also founded the nonprofit Maya’s Ideas 4 The Planet, which fights for environmental justice, diversity in STEM, and mental and well-being support for climate anxiety. Additionally, she is a professional animator and directed an environmental animated short film titled Asali: Power of the Pollinators.

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Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson – marine biologist and co-founder of the policy think tank Urban Ocean Lab which focuses on the future of coastal cities. She is also the co-founder of the All We Can Save Project which helps build deeper and sustained climate engagement, and edited the bestseller All We Can Save anthology. Furthermore, she is the co-creator and co-host of How to Save a Planet, which is a podcast that features inspiring stories about combatting climate change.

Learn more!

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It’s Time to Face the Music: Harms of Noise Pollution and the EPA’s Ineffective Regulation

By Isabella DiCosmo, Fair Shake Legal Intern

We live in a loud world where noise is all around us. While there is noise we enjoy, like music, there is noise that can hurt us – noise pollution. National Geographic defines noise pollution as “any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and well-being of humans and other organisms.” Common contributors of noise pollution are road traffic, planes, garbage trucks, construction, manufacturing processes, and leaf blowers. While we cannot see it, noise pollution has very real effects on human health and the environment.

In addition to the more obvious side effects, like hearing loss, noise pollution also contributes to the exacerbation of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, sleep disturbances, stress, mental health and cognition problems (like memory and attention deficits), and childhood learning delays. These harms compound in environmental justice communities. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses the phrase “health disparities” to describe this occurrence. The CDC defines health disparities as “preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups, and communities.”

As for the environment, noise pollution interferes with animals’ ability to use sound for purposes of communicating, navigating, finding food, attracting mates, and avoiding predators. Noise pollution harms animals both on land and in the sea by disrupting sonar and echolocation.  Natural sounds (from biological sources as opposed to anthropological sources) have been found to reduce pain, lower stress, improve mood, and enhance cognitive performance.

While noise pollution poses a substantial threat to human health and the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged with regulating it has been largely inactive under its Congressional authority to do so within the Noise Control Act of 1972 (NCA). Under the NCA, the EPA is given the authority to identify and regulateproducts that are “major sources” of noise. The NCA also leaves the primary responsibility of noise control to state and local governments, while recognizing that federal action is needed for major noise sources in commerce.

An advocacy organization recently filed a citizen suit against the EPA, asserting that the agency has failed to perform a variety of responsibilities Congress assigned to it under the NCA. These duties include the duties to review, revise, and supplement published noise criteria and published information on safe levels of environmental noise, identify and regulate major sources of noise, develop low-noise-emission products, designate products and promulgate labeling regulations, coordinate and consult regularly with federal agencies and report on their noise control programs, and assist state and local governments in developing effective noise control programs.

The suit relies on studies documenting noise pollution health risks. More updated noise pollution regulations will benefit the public, as they will be better protected against the harms noise pollution causes. Additionally, coming into compliance with new, updated regulations puts a burden on industry. Industry members, including manufacturers of products such as personal listening devices, outdoor power equipment, and transportation technologies, will have to pay the cost of compliance. For example, in the aircraft industry, the compliance costs to modify and retest airplane engines range from $1 million to $3 million per engine. However, the cost of noise pollution in the aircraft industry alone is about $72 million. The compliance cost seems like a small price to pay for the protection of people’s hearing and reduction of harms to the environment.

West Virginia Zoning Case's Potential Impact on Local Control of Oil and Gas Activities

SWN Production Company, LLC v. City of Weirton and City of Weirton Board of Zoning Appeals

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SWN Production Company, LLC, a Texas-based natural gas developer, is appealing a West Virginia circuit court decision upholding local zoning laws’ ability to limit the location of oil and gas activities. The appeal’s outcome may greatly affect the ability of local governments to control oil and gas activities in their communities.

Some Background:

In June 2021, SWN, also known as Southwest Energy, filed an application with the City of Weirton for a conditional use permit to locate a well pad on a 300-acre site that was zoned to allow for oil and gas extraction, and which required a 250-foot setback for schools, churches, and residences. In response to SWN’s application, the Weirton Zoning Board of Appeals rezoned the site to require a 2,500 setback and disallowed oil and gas extraction as a permitted land use under the city’s “Unified Development Ordinance.” SWN submitted its application prior to the new ordinance taking effect, but, on October 1, the zoning board denied SWN’s permit application because the proposed well pad would increase traffic and put stress on the surrounding infrastructure.

On October 18, SWN applied for a permit with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to drill on the site. The DEP granted the permit in February 2022.

SWN ultimately filed suit against the city and zoning board challenging their authority to deny the permit, whether under the old or new “Unified Development Ordinance.” SWN’s lawsuit included many legal issues, but the most important was SWN’s contention that the state laws which granted the DEP authority to allow or deny permits “preempted” local zoning regulations’ ability to regulate oil and gas activity within city limits.

What’s preemption? Basically, preemption means that when the laws of one governmental authority conflict with the laws of another governmental authority, then the laws of whichever is the higher authority prevails. For example, if state laws conflict with federal laws, then federal law prevails. In the Weirton scenario, SWN argued that state laws take precedence over local laws, meaning that the DEP’s authority and decision to grant SWN a permit preempts the city’s zoning laws.

In August 2022, the judge overseeing the case in Brooke County, WV, ruled that the state laws governing oil and gas activities did not preempt zoning ordinances. The judge’s decision stated:

• oil and gas companies are permitted to operate in our state; that the operation of such companies, and the permitting of such companies to operate, is to be largely, if not completely regulated by the state DEP; and that local municipalities, although not permitted to completely ban the lawful operation of oil and gas companies within their city limits, are permitted to pass reasonable and rational zoning ordinances/regulations to allow said companies to operate therein while protecting the health, welfare and safety of its citizens.

 SWN then appealed the judge’s ruling to the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, arguing that the circuit court judge got the preemption question wrong.

The Appeal:

In West Virginia, the Land Use Planning Act grants authority to municipalities to adopt zoning laws, and that zoning ordinances must promote the “general public welfare, health, safety, comfort, and morals.” Zoning ordinances must also, among other things, promote orderly development within city limits, designate land uses, establish standards for land use, and seek to regulate traffic flow to lessen congestion. Importantly, the Land Use Planning Act, explicitly prohibits zoning rules that regulate natural resource development outside of municipalities or urban areas, but the law does not place that same restriction on natural resource development inside municipalities or urban areas. “Municipalities” are cities and incorporated areas, and under the Land Use Planning Act, “urban” means land within the jurisdiction of a municipal planning commission, such as a Weirton’s planning commission.

However, as it did before the circuit court, SWN argues that two state laws preempt all local zoning laws in West Virginia. Those laws are the Oil and Gas Act and the Horizontal Well Control Act. Specifically, SWN relies on language from the Horizontal Well Control Act that states:

•  “the [DEP] secretary has sole and exclusive authority to regulate the permitting, location, spacing, drilling, fracturing, stimulation, well completion activities, operation, any and all other drilling and production processes, plugging and reclamation of oil and gas wells and production operations within the state.”

 According to SWN, this language about the DEP secretary’s “sole and exclusive authority” to regulate permitting and “location” of oil and gas operations preempts all local zoning regulations.

The City of Weirton countered SWN’s arguments in three ways:

1. While the Land Use Planning Act explicitly says that zoning regulations cannot limit natural resource development outside of municipalities or urban areas, the law does not impose that same restriction on zoning laws that regulate natural resource development within municipalities. Therefore, municipalities can regulate oil and gas activities through zoning ordinances.

2.  Two, for a state law to preempt a local law in West Virginia, one of two conditions must be met. One, the state law must contain explicit language that says the state law preempts local laws, OR, two, the state legislature must have clearly intended for the state law to preempt local laws. The city argued that there is no explicit language in the Oil and Gas Act or the Horizontal Well Control Act that says local zoning ordinances are preempted. For instance, the language cited by SWN in the Horizontal Well Control Act that gives the DEP secretary sole and exclusive authority over permitting and well location says nothing about preemption of local zoning ordinances. As for the state legislature clearly intending for the Oil and Gas Act or the Horizontal Well Control Act to preempt local zoning ordinances, the city argued that SWN provided no evidence at all that the state legislature had intentions of preemption.

3.  The city argued that there is no conflict between regulating oil and gas activities through zoning laws and the state’s regulation of permits through the Oil and Gas Act and the Horizontal Well Control Act. That is, local zoning ordinances and the state laws regulate two very different types of activity. Zoning laws are concerned with orderly land use and development within municipalities, but the Oil and Gas Act and the Horizontal Well Control Act are concerned with state-level environmental regulation of oil and gas activities (for example, whether gas development complies with state environmental regulations). According to the city, because zoning ordinances and the state law serve two very different purposes there is no conflict or preemption issue for a court to resolve.

Under West Virginia law, if the state allows an activity, zoning ordinances cannot ban that activity. However, zoning ordinances can regulate that activity, and the city cites many instances where that is the case. For example, the state grants liquor licenses and zoning laws cannot revoke liquor licenses. But, local zoning laws can regulate where liquor is sold, just as a city can determine other types of land use (e.g., commercial use, residential use, mixed used).

The city also pointed to cases regarding fracking activity where zoning laws crossed the line into a ban and that Weirton’s zoning did no such thing. For instance, in 2011, Morgantown enacted a total ban on fracking within one mile of the city limits, considering fracking an environmental hazard. When an oil and gas company challenged that ban, the court in Northeast Natural Energy, LLC v. The City of Morgantown, ruled that the city could not ban an activity (fracking) allowed by the state. The city also could not use its zoning power to regulate fracking based on environmental concerns because the state regulated whether industry is in compliance with environmental regulations. Similarly, when Fayette County, WV enacted a county-wide ban on fracking wastewater disposal because of concerns over water contamination, the court in EQT v. Wender held that the county could not ban an allowed activity. Also, the ban was invalid because it was concerned with environmental contamination, which the state DEP regulates.

The City of Weirton argued that its use of zoning is very different from the Morgantown and Fayette County examples because the city (1) did not ban fracking, and (2) the city did not deny SWN’s permit based on environmental issues that the state DEP already regulates. Instead, the city denied the permit based on traditional zoning issues of traffic regulation, whether the noise and light produced by gas activity would negatively affect surrounding businesses and residents, and whether gas activity was compatible with the city’s overall economic development plan.

What’s Next:

The Intermediate Court of Appeals heard arguments on September 19, 2023 and will issue its decision in the next months or early next year. The court might uphold the circuit court’s decision and reject SWN’s claim that the state laws preempt all local zoning laws. The court might also modify the circuit court’s decision by stating more precisely how zoning ordinances can regulate oil and gas activities withing city limits. Or the court might accept SWN’s arguments and declare that all zoning laws are preempted. If that were the case, as SWN admitted, as long as the DEP issued a permit and the center of a well pad was 625 feet from an occupied building, then fracking well pads would be allowed in all neighborhoods. Lastly, as the Biden administration just announced the location of hydrogen hubs in West Virginia, such as in Follansbee, whether cities can use zoning regulate that type of industrial activity will surely be a future legal issue in West Virginia and other states.

References:

 The briefs submitted by SWN (petitioner) and the City of Weirton (respondent) are available at:

http://www.courtswv.gov/intermediate-court/Calendar/2023/Dockets/09-19-23ad.html

https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2022/08/cuomo-zoning-not-pre-empted-by-regulations/

 Written by Daniel Weimer, Fair Shake Legal Intern

FAIR SHAKE BRINGS ON NEW LAWYER TO EXPAND SERVICES FOR COMMUNITIES WITH LEAD EXPOSURE

Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services has provided assistance to communities experiencing lead exposure for over seven years. While the mission of Fair Shake is to foster equal access to environmental justice in the Appalachian Region, the variation of laws governing lead between state and local jurisdictions have been a barrier to the expansion of services for lead exposure. That is why Fair Shake is excited to announce that Brooke Christy, a recent Pitt Law graduate, has joined Fair Shake’s staff as an Equal Justice Works Fellow dedicated to specializing in lead exposure. Brooke will be responsible for a wide variety of tasks, including direct representation of tenants with lead exposure, collaborating with community organizations to better support their existing efforts, and promoting increased capacity of pro-bono lead litigation.  

This fellowship was intentionally designed to have broad programming opportunities because we understand that the needs of our community partners vary significantly across regions. Brooke will be leaning on her ten years of community organizing experience and legal education to bring attorneys and organizers closer together in the fight to prevent lead poisoning. She also looks forward to building upon relationships that Fair Shake has established in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to identify how we can best serve local communities and build sustainable programming for us to continue this work for years to come.  

We recognize that while the rates of lead poisoning have significantly dropped in recent decades, the eradication of lead poisoning will require creative approaches on how to best serve our most vulnerable communities. Lead exposure continues to have disproportionate impacts on historically marginalized communities, including communities of color and residents with low-income. Tenants and their families are also uniquely vulnerable to lead exposure due to barriers to access preventative and remediation resources. Compounding this, the aging infrastructure of the Appalachian Basin puts local communities at higher risk than the national average. 

Since joining Fair Shake at the end of September, Brooke has started reaching out to community partners to discuss potential collaborations. Such collaboration can include helping draft model municipal ordinances, assisting with community education programing, creating “Know Your Rights” guides tailored to localities, providing technical support for organizations receiving federal funds for lead remediation, and accepting referrals for tenants seeking legal counsel.  

If you or an organization that you work with are interested in similar services, please reach out to Brooke at bchristy@fairshake-els.org or (267) 817-5917. 

We also plan to be in attendance at several Lead Poisoning Prevention Week events, including Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH) resource fair at East Cleveland Public Library on October 28. We hope you will join us in celebrating Lead Poisoning Prevention Week by finding an event near you or clicking here to learn more about lead.  

Finally, we would like to give a special thanks to Fenwick & West LLP for sponsoring this fellowship.