The Tea Party Movement & The Environmental Movement

The first Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee was broadcast on C-SPAN and the attendees looked to be all White. They even bemoaned the lack of minority participation and cited Blacks hither and yon who are participants. It reminded us of the Environmental Movement. Highly racially segregated yet pointing out 'hither and yon' participation. The Environmental Movement is privately proud of its exclusive make up. It makes us wonder if the Tea Party Movement is secretly proud of its elitist status too. Oh they do the 'corn pone' but we know all about that kind of corn bread. Sarah Palin was their keynote speaker at the end of the conference.

Interesting that the Environmental Movement has racial segregation in common with the Tea Party Movement. Yet they both give empty lip service to 'wanting' minority participation. Welcome to far left and far right racial hypocrisy. Do you have to drink the Kool-Aid to participate? Of course you do. We are wary of both of these movements because they have zero interest in Black communities. In fact, they do not even want to acknowledge the existence of these neighborhoods. Except in some sort of abstract way, as in they don't go there but surely some sort of 'program' can address the needs of 'those people.' We prefer President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush to these exclusive movements. At least those presidents let us in the door in high-level positions. And acknowledge our existence. Even the GOP recruited Micheal Steele. So don't go thinking you are 'all that' Tea Party Movement. Neither you nor your step sister the Environmental Movement are 'all that' to us.

The Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program

Norris McDonald & Mickey Leland, 1982
The Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program provides summer internship opportunities for minorities, women, and economically disadvantaged students pursuing environmental, engineering, science-related, and public administration careers at colleges and universities across the United States. The program was established in 1992 by the Texas Water Commission (a predecessor agency to the TCEQ) in partnership with the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas General Land Office, the Texas Chemical Council, the Texas Council of the American Electronics Association and numerous private corporation.

The purpose of the program is to expose undergraduate and graduate students to environmental issues and provide them with opportunities to gain professional experience.
The program honors the late U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland's effective efforts to promote a clean and healthy environment. Congressman Leland was killed in a plane crash on August 7, 1989, en route to Ethiopia on a mission as Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Hunger. Leland's environmental commitment is well documented. He was most noted for his contributions as a member of the Subcommittee on Health and Environment. He emphasized and demonstrated the importance of heightened awareness and involvement of minority participation in the protection of public health and environmental issues and consistently addressed public health issues related to the minority community.

Students interested in participating in the Mickey Leland program must have completed at least 60 undergraduate semester hours at the end of the most immediate past Fall semester or be a current graduate student enrollee. Candidates must be enrolled full time during the current Spring semester and have a minimum academic grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale at the time of application.

The official deadline for submitting the application and supporting documents will be April 1, 2010. Interested intern candidates should submit an application form.

AAEA President McDonald, pictured above with Mickey Leland in 1982, organized the first Congressional Black Caucus Energy Braintrust in cooperation with the congressman's office. (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality)

New Book on Environmental Justice By Dorceta Taylor

A new book from a University of Michigan professor explores how the centuries-old connections between racism and the environment in American cities.

"The Environment and the People in American Cities, 1600s-1900s: Disorder, Inequality, and Social Change" was written by Dorceta Taylor, left, a professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment and director of an institute studying the issue of environmental justice its modern context. Duke University Press plans to release the book this month.

"The Environment and the People in American Cities" provides a sweeping and detailed examination of the evolution of American cities from Colonial New York and Boston to recent urban planning and labor reform efforts, outlining the rise of problems like overcrowding, pollution, poverty and epidemics and connecting them to systemic environmental racism and other forms of environmental inequities.

In its coverage of race, class and gender inequalities, the book includes a dimension missing from other academic books on environmental history. Professor Taylor adds to current research on the subject by exploring the emergence of elite reformers, the framing of environmental problems and the responses to perceived breakdowns in social order. By focusing specifically on cities, she offers important clues to understanding the evolution of American environmental activism.

Beyond the contribution to historical literature on the subject, Professor Taylor connects her findings to current issues in environmental policy. The book grew out of an undergraduate class on environmental politics Professor Taylor taught more than a decade ago. After finding no books or articles examining race, class or gender and the environment in a historical context, she decided to write her own. The project eventually grew into two books.

While all-male expeditions and solitary males who retreat to the woods for months or years at a time are idealized in many environmental history accounts, the urban activists receive no such acclaim or glory," she said, noting that female, working class and ethnic minorities were active in environmental activism and affairs. "In the city, the classes, races and genders interacted with each other to create a kind of environmentalism that was very fluid and dynamic.

Throughout her analysis, she connects social and environmental conflicts of the past to those of the present. She describes the displacement of people of color for the production of natural open space for the white and wealthy; the close proximity between garbage and communities of color in early America; the "cozy" relationship between middle-class environmentalists and the business community; and resistance to environmental inequalities from residents of marginal communities.

Get Active. Go Green! The Benefits of Virtual Meetings

If you operate a small or home-based business and find yourself driving all over the city for meetings or workshops, you should consider attending virtually. While the idea is still new for some, for others, meeting online, over the phone, via Web cam, or chat room is more than just convenient, it's a new way of life! Not only are virtual meetings cost-effective, more importantly, they reduce your carbon footprint and you help save the planet!

In some cases, it is important to meet with someone face-to-face. If it's your first time meeting a client, meeting in person is necessary to establish a rapport with the person you'll be doing business with, and to gauge whether a trustworthy relationship can be established.

However, there is nothing you can accomplish meeting in person that you can't accomplish virtually. All you have to do is make sure you have a few pieces of necessary office equipment that you would need regardless to run an effective home-based or small business.

For example, if you prefer looking at the person or people you're meeting with, a Web cam might be necessary. Also, make sure you have a good phone with conferencing, hands-free and muting capabilities. For documents that might need your signature right away, a good scanner and/or fax machine will make it possible to give your written approval.

Next, you want to make sure you have good Internet connection and workspace, and be sure that files and other documents you might need are within your reach. Extras like a copier can help you execute and return documents more efficiently. Finally, you'll need the obvious, a desktop or laptop computer with the latest software to make your virtual meeting experience a breeze and a professional success!

In the end, you'll be able to add up all the gas, energy, time, money and Earth you'll save!

Get Active. Go Green! As part of our environmental responsibility, we make Earth Day last all year long! Do your part--visit often for green education and awareness. delmetria millener is the Texas director of the African American Environmentalist Association.

Official First Family Photograph

The Obamas in the Green Room, Sept. 1, 2009, with Sasha, second from left, and Malia, right. (Annie Leibovitz for the White House)

Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Remarks to the National Asssociation of Black Journalists

Excerpts:

Will the millions of green and clean energy jobs being promised reach the black community? And the answer to that question is, “Yes – they have and they will.”

One of my African American colleagues told me about how, every year as winter was coming, his grandmother would get up on a chair and put up plastic sheeting over the windows.

She didn’t say she was “greening her home.”
She didn’t say she was “weatherizing the house.”
She didn’t call herself an “environmentalist.”

From her perspective, she was just keeping out the cold and saving money on the oil bill. But the issues that we label “environmentalism” were an important part of her life. This disconnect is a significant challenge. But it’s also one of our greatest opportunities.

Today, the inauguration of the first African American president, and my confirmation as the first African American Administrator of this Agency, has begun the process of changing the face of environmentalism in our country.

FULL SPEECH

Remembering Congressman Mickey Leland - 20 Years Later

Reprinted courtesy Alison Leland, State Senator Rodney Ellis & Houston Chronicle
Aug. 6, 2009

"20 Years After Death, Let’s Remember Leland’s Legacy"

Twenty years ago our city, our nation and much of the world waited for word on the fate of the missing delegation led by Congressman Mickey Leland. The delegation was on the way to oversee the delivery and distribution of essential supplies to famine-stricken Ethiopia. After an international search effort, we learned that his plane had crashed, killing the congressman, congressional staff members, USAID staff and American and Ethiopian supporters.

Today, as he is missed and remembered, many of his passions and causes live on.

Although he loved Houston, Leland's efforts, vision and the size of his heart could not be confined to the boundaries of his congressional district or this nation. Leland understood that the struggle for basic human rights — food, clothing, shelter and health care — was necessarily a global one. Leland dedicated his life to giving back; championing the causes of the poor and disempowered.

As an activist, long before he ran for elected office, Leland set up free health clinics in areas of Houston where residents previously had little to no access to health care. He continued the fight in the Texas Legislature and in Washington for those less privileged, on issues such as alleviating hunger and poverty, protecting civil rights and expanding access to health care. We are still fighting all these battles today

One of the issues most associated with Leland is the often neglected issue of hunger. He pushed for the creation of, and eventually chaired, the Select Committee on Hunger in Congress. But he always linked hunger and health care as basic human rights.

He passed a bill in the Texas House to give access to generic drugs to low-income people. He fought for universal access to health care before most considered it a serious possibility. And now, as President Obama has put health care reform on the top of his legislative agenda, there is the possibility to achieve one of Leland's greatest goals: universal health coverage.

Nobody should be forced to make the difficult choice of paying bills or taking a sick child to the doctor. And yet one in four Texans — Texas has the highest rate of uninsured in the nation — must routinely make that choice. Leland desperately wanted us to understand that in a nation of abundance, people should not be turned away from medical treatment simply because they are less privileged. He fought until the end, against incredible odds, because he believed that working together for a just cause, we can all make a difference. His untimely death robbed us of a friend and champion, but his purpose and legacy endure.

As we commemorate Leland's life on the 20th anniversary of his passing, let us rededicate ourselves to the values of compassion, courage, and advocacy that he exemplified. Let us resolve that we will push for a health care system that provides quality and affordable health care to all Americans.

We can think of no better way to honor Leland's life and legacy.

Alison Leland is a professor of political science at the University of Houston and widow of former Congressman Mickey Leland. Ellis, a Democrat, represents Senate District 13 in Houston and served as Leland's chief of staff. (Houston Chronicle, 9/8/09, Photo Courtesy Houston Chronicle)

Note: AAEA President Norris McDonald organized the first Energy Braintrust for the Congressional Black Caucus on behalf of the late Congressman Mickey Leland in 1982. Photo below.