Photo Credit: Crystal Myrick/The Warrenist

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan visited Warren County, North Carolina (Birthplace of the Environmental Justice Movement) on Saturday, September 24 to announce the Biden-Harris administration will be establishing the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

The new initiative will oversee a $3 billion grant and employ over 200 staff members.

The program featured Warren County activists, Dollie Burwell and Rev. Bill Kearney and other notable guests such as Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Dr. Ben Chavis, Rev. William Barber, and more.

The question remains, how will Warren County benefit from this new office?

Video: Crystal Myrick/The Warrenist (Subscribe)

Office of Environment Justice and External Civil Rights | EPA Announcement | Warren County, NC

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Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. in conversation with Catherine Coleman Flowers. Moderator: Cameron Oglesby.

This event, recorded Sept. 15 2022, commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Warren County protests in North Carolina. The nonviolent protests in 1982 surrounded the state’s disposal of soil laced with PCBs in the predominately Black community. The protests were considered among the earliest for environmental justice in the United States.

The Robert R. Wilson Distinguished Lecture features the Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., who is credited for coining the term “environmental racism,” which he declared from his prison cell after being arrested during the protests. Chavis will be joined in conversation by Catherine Coleman Flowers, activist and recent McArthur Genius Grant awardee.

Event partners include the Sanford School of Public Policy, the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute. In addition to the Wilson Distinguished Lecture support, this event is also supported by the Reckoning with Race and Racism in the American South grant and the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. This event is a part of a larger series of lectures and celebrations of environmental justice this fall at Duke University.

WATCH: Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. Speaks On Warren County PCB Protest, Origin and Future of Environmental Justice Movement

Photo Credit: The Black Press of America

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“Birthplace of the Environmental Justice Movement”

The Warren County Environmental Action Team, Warren County Community Center, NAACP Warren County Branch, Coley Springs Missionary Baptist Church, United Church of Christ, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University along with other groups will hold a multi-faceted commemoration of the historic 1982 Warren County PCB protests this month. These protests led to the birth of the environmental justice movement.

Organizers plan to retrace the landmark marches and sing many of the protest songs when they walk to the Warren County dumpsite on Sat., Sept. 17. In addition to an ongoing exhibit at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library, there will be panel and webinar discussions and an NAACP virtual banquet.

Among the events are:

Aug. – Dec. 22: UNC-Chapel Hill Wilson Library Environmental Justice Exhibit

Sept. 14 at 1 PM: Webinar discussion with former protester Dollie Burwell, the Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis and the Rev. Bill Kearney. Register here

Sept. 14 at 5:30 PM: “Recalling Warren County – Discussing the Birth of the Movement. Discussion between former protesters, a protest photographer, the first NC Black woman elected to Congress and the Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis at Duke University’s Penn Pavilion Garden Room. Register here

Sept. 15 at 1-3 PM: UNC-Chapel Hill Wilson Special Collections Library panel discussion and exhibit viewing

Sept. 15 at 5:30 PM: “Environmental Justice: Past, Present and Future” with Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis and Catherine Coleman Flowers at Duke’s Chapel (see attached flyer) Register here

Sept. 17 from 8 AM – 2 PM: Commemoration Ceremony & March to the landfill. Registration and gathering at Coley Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Warren County. Address: 224 Parktown Road, Warrenton, NC 27589 More info. here

Sept. 18 from 2 – 4 PM: Community Worship Service at Coley Springs Missionary Baptist Church. Info. here

Sept. 20 from 5 PM – 8 PM: Downtown Warrenton & Warren County Jail Museum EJ Tour. Info. here

Sept. 24 at 1:00 PM: EPA to make policy announcement at the Warren County Courthouse Square. Address: 109 S. Main Street, Warrenton, NC 27589

Sept. 24 at 6:30 PM: “Back Together Again” Virtual gathering NAACP Warren County Branch. Register

Sept. 30 at 12-1 PM: “40 Years of Environmental Justice: Birth in Warren County to Today & Beyond” with Rev. Bill Kearney and additional speakers TBA, a free lunchtime webinar hosted by Clean Water for NC. Info here

Sept. 30 at TBD: “The Roots, Experiences, and Future of Climate Justice” with William Barber III, Yumna Kamel, and Dr. Jennifer Hadden at Duke University Gross Hall room 107, Ahmadieh Family Auditorium. Register Here.

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