{"id":30607,"date":"2021-06-04T15:16:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colorlines.madeostudio.com\/article\/pay-now-time-bold-investment-environmental-justice-groups-op-ed\/"},"modified":"2021-06-04T15:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:16:00","slug":"pay-now-time-bold-investment-environmental-justice-groups-op-ed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colorlines.com\/article\/pay-now-time-bold-investment-environmental-justice-groups-op-ed\/","title":{"rendered":"Pay up: Now is the Time for Bold Investment in Environmental Justice Groups [Op-Ed]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pay up: Now is the Time for Bold Investment in Environmental Justice Groups [Op-Ed]<\/h3>\n

\n By Huda Alkaff and Donele Wilkins<\/span> Jun 04, 2021<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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At this moment when climate and environmental justice are being centered and marked for remedy, it is vital that the female founders and vanguards who have long centered their work around <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>environmental justice principles<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> be heard. As the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Biden-Harris Administration<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> begins to act on its climate, infrastructure and jobs policies and goals, it is imperative that people of color who have been most impacted by the burden and legacies of climate injustice are the first to receive its benefits, and that environmental justice groups who have already been on the ground doing this work are empowered, affirmed and receive fiscal investment to continue their efforts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
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rnWe are two women of color and environmental justice leaders in the Midwest: Huda Alkaff, an ecologist, environmental educator, environmental justice activist, and the founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims<\/a> who for<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> more than two decades has advocated for environmental justice and initiated Muslim and interfaith programs on energy democracy, and water equity, and <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Donele Wilkins, an environmental justice activist, founder and CEO of the Green Door Initiative<\/a> in Detroit; she has provided workforce development in the environmental and green collar sectors for people of color for nearly two decades, ensuring that more than 400 people secure good paying employment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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rnA Black woman and a Muslim woman. The dominant culture and narrative say that we don\u2019t fit the typical profile of who leads climate work, but despite this notion, we have been initiating and leading the charge to provide environmental justice and climate equity solutions for decades, working on behalf of our communities and the grassroots power movement. Despite our proven experience,  our voices and efforts have too often been underfunded, overlooked, ignored and isolated. Together we say: Now is the time for bold investment in environmental justice! Based on the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>2021 White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Recommendations<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, we recommend the following measures be taken before the end of this year:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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