The promise held by greening America’s cities presents the opportunity to fight the climate crisis while also revitalizing communities of color struggling from decades of economic and environmental despair.
It’s time to green the block! This series takes place in Los Angeles, one of America’s most polluted cities. It engages on environmental justice issues and solutions for communities of color to own their land, take care of it, and leave it in a better place for future generations.
Much of that work involves advocating for policies that do not bring harm to communities of color, shutting down facilities in our community that contribute to air pollution or training facilities that empower law enforcement to be more aggressive with police violence. Directed by Antonio Hernandez, the film explores dialogue and advocacy supporting the development of new community green spaces and education and narrative creation around community-owned revitalization, economic development, and climate resilience efforts that result in healthy, thriving communities of color across Los Angeles.
Part 1 of our series features Professor Manuel Pastor, director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California, and Richard Garcia, the executive director and co-founder of Alma Backyard Farms. Together, Pastor and Garcia illustrate why our communities not only reserve the right to benefit from its revitalization, we have the access to resources to achieve it.
Part 2 of our series features Professor Manuel Pastor, director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California, LA City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Sissy Trinh, executive director of the Southeast Asian Community Alliance (SEACA), and Skipp Townsend, CEO & executive director of 2nd Call.
This project was filmed by Hip Hop Caucus, with support from Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities initiative.
Learn more about Hip Hop Caucus at https://hiphopcaucus.org and follow @hiphopcaucus on all social media platforms.
Learn more about the Bezos Earth Fund at https://bezosearthfund.org and follow @BezosEarthFund on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
