Movement Building

In order to strengthen the movement to build power for more systemic change, we have been strengthening our relationships with our allies in the environmental justice, social justice, academic and environmental arenas through our campaigns and educational activities.  In order to effectively confront corporate power, we need to build a social movement, much like the African American liberation movement that ended legal segregation in the South and achieved civil rights for the African American people.  Movement Building is central to the strategy of Communities for a Better Environment.

Please visit California Environmental Justice Working Group and GREEN LA for a more detailed discription of those movements.

Northern California:

• Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition (EJAQC)
  At this time, EJAQC is comprised of 5 core organizations (CBE, West County Toxics Coalition, GreenAction, Youth United for Community Action and the Hunters View Mothers Committee), and 4 supporting organizations (Golden Gate University EJ Law Clinic, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, Healthy San Leandro and Bay View /Hunters Point Advocates). EJAQC’s area of focus in 2007 is it’s participation in the Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative’s cumulative impacts (CI) regional campaign. To that end, CBE is participating in EJAQC meetings, conducting community outreach and training around CI, and facilitating dialogue with regional decision makers to advocate for the adoption of CI policies at the regional and state level.

• Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative (BAEHC)
  As part of EJAQC, CBE is engaging in a regional Cumulative Impacts campaign targeting the state Air Resources Board and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The CI approach encompasses the overarching goals of our work both in Contra Costa and Oakland. Through participation in this campaign, CBE will be providing at least 2 trainings in 2007 that focus on CI in a regional and local context. This will prepare community members and staff to effectively represent CBE on the issue of CI in future opportunities to push CI legislation and policy at the local, regional and state level.

• Ditching Dirty Diesel Coalition (DDDC)
  The DDDC is a Bay Area group of environmental justice, public health, technical assistance and policy making organizations and coalitions concerned about the impact of diesel pollution on our health and communities. The Collaborative is broken down into a Steering Committee, an Idling Committee and a Freight Transport Committee. Currently, CBE is part of the Steering Committee and plan on joining the Idling Committee this year.

• Transportation Justice Working Group (TJWG)
  The TJWG, a six-organization collaborative, is requesting a seven to nine month planning grant to promote the development of a group along the lines of the successful model which has been operating for 10 years in the Los Angeles area. The Transportation Justice Working Group of the Bay Area Social Equity Caucus which has been meeting for more than two years now to develop regional strategies for improved mass transit and transit access, has affirmed that a TJWG should be developed in the Bay Area to advance these goals, and coordinators of the LA Bus Riders Union have agreed to provide extensive technical support to the Planning Group. Improvements in transit access, particularly for low-income residents, would address substantial and quantifiable public health risks, as our narrative describes.

Southern California:

• Communities for Environmental Health and Justice (CEHAJ)

The CEHAJ collaborative is working to prevent and eliminate environmental harm along the 710 Freeway corridor communities. In addition to CBE, member organizations include: East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (Commerce), Physicians for Social Responsibility, Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (Long Beach), Comité Pro Uno (Maywood), Coalition for Clean Air, Natural Resources Defense Council.

• South East LA Cluster  (SE Cluster)

The SE Cluster is working to advance addressing cumulative impact pollution, focusing on the ARB pilot project communities of Wilmington and Commerce. In addition to CBE, community groups include: East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (Commerce), Coalition for a Safe Environment (Wilmington), Community Coalition for Change (Athens Park), Comité Pro Uno (Maywood). Other members of the collaboration include Liberty Hill Foundation, Manuel Pastor, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Jim Sadd, and evaluator Martha Matsuoka.

• Southern Californians for Youth

This group is working to advance youth organizing and youth power in Southern California. In addition to CBE Youth for Environmental Justice, members include: Khmer Girls in Action, Inner City Struggle, Wise-Up/CHIRLA, South Central Youth Empowered Through Action/Community Coalition, Youth Justice Coalition.

• Language Community Art Studio

CBE continues to work with this art collective studio in Wilmington to raise environmental justice awareness through educational art projects. CBE is in the talks of painting a mural and conducting a toxic tour with the kids.

Statewide and Beyond:

• California Statewide Alliance (CASA) - (CBE, EHC, CCAEJ, PODER, SVTC, APEN, SCOPE, LAANE, Community Coalition, Garment Worker Center, Chinese Progressive Association, Inner City Struggle, Urban Habitat, Working Partnerships, Fresno Area Congregations Together, Californians for Justice) 

CASA organizations will continue to build and coordinate electoral capacity, support the work of the hubs (i.e. EJWG), provide a community-based voice in Apollo Project efforts in the state, and host strategic discussions and trainings on a variety of topics that concern our work.

• At the national and international levels, CBE continues building relationships through Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ), Grassroots Global Justice (GJ), and GroundWork (formerly SAEPEJ).

• CBE will continue to provide support for anti-war and immigrant rights struggles.