A Word … With Jason Johnson

The Color of Climate Change

Environmentalism isn’t just a white issue. Black grassroots activists have been leading from the start.

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Episode Notes

As natural disasters like wildfires and floods ravage the country, a growing chorus of Americans is calling for action now to fight climate change. And Black environmentalists who’ve seen their communities suffer from environmental abuse and neglect for generations are pushing the issue to the top of the civil rights agenda. On today’s episode of A Word, professor Robert Bullard, known as the “father of environmental justice,” speaks about the cost of environmental racism, and how a new generation is leading the fight to stop it.

Guest: Robert Bullard, co-chair of the National Black Environmental Justice Network, and the Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University

Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel and Jasmine Ellis

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About the Show

America doesn’t need another conversation about race. At least, not the kind we’ve been having … the ones that are sparked by a crisis and move quickly from shock to empty promises to forgetting. No. What America needs are REAL conversations about race—ones that shine a light on the facts, the history, and the reality of how race plays out in our politics and society. That’s what Slate offers each week on A Word … with Jason Johnson. A veteran political commentator, Johnson will bring his incisive wit to thoughtful discussions with leaders, journalists, and other change-makers who will tell the truth about America’s challenges around race and offer ideas on the way forward.

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