In light of the national news about Flint, Michigan, and more local concerns about water problems and fraking in our own county, the Committee for Racial Justice will hold its monthly workshop Sunday in Santa Monica with a focus on environmental racism.
The speaker will be Niki Okuk, a small-business owner; lifelong activist; worker for social, economic, and environmental justice; a dreamer and a doer.
Okuk studied economics at Columbia University and completed her MBA with the Nanyang Fellows program in Singapore, and the MIT Sloan School of Business program in sustainability. She returned home to Los Angeles where she launched Rco2 Material Reuse, a tire waste upcycling company.
Rco2 Material Reuse diverts tens of millions of gallons of petroleum waste from landfills into new products annually while also creating numerous green-collar jobs in Compton, California, where Okuk lives and works.
The workshop will address questions such as:
What do we know about environmental racism and how it is affecting Black communities worldwide?
How is environmental racism affecting Flint MI and other American cities?
What are local environmental concerns (Baldwin Hills etc.)?
How can we work towards a cleaner environment and become environmental activists in Black communities, both local and national?
What projects and resources are available to us to become active in reversing environmental racism?
The event is part of an ongoing monthly workshop series sponsored by the Committee For Racial Justice and is co-sponsored by Virginia Ave. Park; the African American Parent, Staff, Student Support Group; and the Church in Ocean Park.
The free workshop takes place Sunday April 3, from 6pm-8:30pm (potluck supper at 6pm,
program at 6:30pm) at Virginia Avenue Park, Thelma Terry Bldg., 2200 Virginia Ave., Santa Monica. For more information call 310.422.5431.
