Civil Rights and the Future of Environmental Justice

Please join us in welcoming Rachel Rintelmann, Managing Attorney for the Community Partnerships Program at Earthjustice. We will be learning about ways to interpret and utilize non-environmental civil rights statutes, particularly the Fair Housing Act of 1968, to address the disproportionate impacts of pollution and climate change felt by low-income and minority communities. By laying out the current legal landscape for the landmark civil rights statutes, and the ways they have been severely narrowed through judicial interpretation, we will discuss the possible future of environmental justice beginning to gather support in the courts through a new avenue: The Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Shawarmas will be served, with a vegan falafel option available.