Environmental Justice: Race, Displacement, and Land

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29TH from 1-5 pm. SFU HABROUR CENTRE, 515 WEST HASTINGS

Please join us for a half day conference with inspiring speakers, powerful films, and thought-provoking discussion on environmental justice. The aim of this gathering will be to expose the root causes of environmental injustice as stemming from institutionalized racism, sexism, and classism; the commodification of land, water, energy, food, and air in a capitalist economy; and the plunder of the Earth and displacement of all its inhabitants due to a colonial legacy of pillage and militarization. Join us in exploring how environmental movements are inextricably connected to these broader struggles and in deeply acknowledging that there exists an inequitable distribution across the planet of those who bear the greatest brunt of environmental degradation.

==> FILMS EXCERPTS INCLUDE:

* Refugees of a Blue Planet:  Each year, millions of environmental refugees around the world are driven to forced displacement due to degradation of their land, home, and environment.

* Remember Africville: Africville, a black community in Halifax, is uprooted in the name of urban renewal and integration in the 1960’s. Former residents tell the story of that painful relocation.

* Blockade- Algonquins Defend the Forest: This film follows the Barriere Lake Algonquins as they take on the government and the logging industry in a struggle to save their traditional hunting grounds.

* When the Levees Broke: A portrait of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The film looks at a community that has survived death and devastation for decades; yet maintains its resilience.

==>  SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

* Mike Mercredi: Mike is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (Alberta). He will be in BC as part of a speaking tour to raise awareness about the front line struggles of and impacts on indigenous communities in Fort Chipewyan as a result of the Tar Sands, the largest industrial project in history.

* Gil Aguilar: Gil is the Campaigns and Communications Assistant at the Western Wilderness Committee. Originally from Chiapas, Mexico, Gil moved to Canada in 2001 with a passion for integrating an indigenous worldview to this environmental and community-driven organization that never stops dreaming.

* Cease Wyss: Cease Wyss/T’Uy’Tanat is an artist, educator, patron of the arts, activist, mother hailing from the Sko-Mish-Ul7h Nation. She coordinates the Good Food Box, a program to make fresh fruits and vegetables available to the community. She is also a traditional healer and herbalist.

* Usman Majeed: Usman is a member of No One Is Illegal and UBC Colour Connected Against Racism. He is a long time anti-racist, pro-feminist, and anti-imperialist activist and is deeply connected to struggles to protect the environment. He is also a homemaker and parent to two daughters.

==> WORKSHOPS AND DISCUSSION ON:

* What is Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism?
* How is the Environmental Crisis linked to other systems of domination?
* Exploring Individual and Systemic solutions