Summit connects dots between climate change and environmental injustice

This week’s arctic blast that had folks considering whether that cup of coffee really was worth a trip outdoors is the other side of the same coin that in 2024 delivered excessive heat resulting in Hurricane Helene’s destructive floodwaters — weather extremes linked to climate change.

There’s a disconnect with that when it comes to the correlation between climate change and environmental justice, which impacts the Black community, in particular, according to thought leaders at the North Carolina Black Alliance 2025 Grounded in Justice, Rooted in Wellness Environmental Injustice and Healthcare Summit Jan. 17-18 at Word Tabernacle Church and Rocky Mount Event Center.

“We want our communities to experience justice. Right now, with the hog farms, PFAS, contaminated air, they’re not experiencing justice. That’s why we call it environmental injustice. We also know it’s affecting their health,” said Karida Giddings, the access to health care program coordinator for North Carolina Black Alliance (NCBA).

PFAS is short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Scientific studies have linked them to health hazards. They are known as forever chemicals and are everywhere — in water, in air, in soil, in fish, in us. Things like PFAS can impact an individual’s physical, mental and spiritual health, Giddings said.

“And when we are experiencing environmental injustice in our communities, it’s disrupting all of those different dimensions of wellness, too,” she said.

The summit was an opportunity for experts in environmental justice to trade notes. But where it especially had impact was as a hub where everyday people like Jan Perry could dip their toes in the vast subject matter. She’s a member of the steering committee for the West Greenville Health Council and acquired knowledge she could take home, information like connecting the dots between environmental injustice and convenience stores concentrated in Black communities. Those quick-stop shops sell a lot of unhealthy, highly processed food like potato chips, as opposed to grocery stores and supermarkets with fresh potatoes for baking. The summit equipped Perry with language for what she already was seeing, and she left empowered to raise her voice.

“Now we’re thinking, ‘How can we push back?’” Perry offered.

Connecting Environmental Justice to Community Health and Resilience”

Getting in that kind of good trouble will require those in communities to resist letting power struggles get in the way of the work, the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., president and CEO of Hip Hop Caucus, said during his keynote address.

Tyra Gross, Ph.D., an associate professor of public health at Xavier University of Louisiana, used her keynote speech to make a through line between advocating for maternal and child health while drawing attention to environmental justice and disaster preparedness. Her research includes maternal health and breastfeeding in Louisiana. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a recall on baby formula created a shortage. There was another shortage when Hurricane Ida blew through in 2021. That was an issue for mothers who were not breastfeeding. Extreme weather due to climate change could cause the problem to resurface, Gross suggested.

“Seeing firsthand the two issues collide, and that’s when I kind of had the epiphany,” Gross said.

“Black and brown mothers and families and those that are pregnant and nursing are most vulnerable to some of the impacts of these disasters we’ve been seeing.”

The summit’s theme was “Reclaiming Our Health and Environment.”

“My vision for the summit was to create a space where folk understand how environmental justice is an issue that is also connected to health care,” Giddings said.

“Everyone needs this information,” NCBA environmental justice coordinator Brayndon Stafford said. “Everyone needs to know how to be resilient. Everyone needs to know the power of their own agency in protecting their communities. And, of course, with rooted in wellness, grounded in justice, what that means for them individually and how they can apply that when they take that home.”

Fayetteville State University Honored for Public Health and Environmental Justice Efforts

NCBA awarded its annual HBCU Award to the public health program at Fayetteville State University. The historically black institution is in a community impacted by issues of environmental injustice, such as forever chemicals in the Cape Fear River.

“To have an HBCU down there doing work around public health and environmental justice, it only made sense [to award Fayetteville State],” Giddings said.

Melissa Haithcox-Dennis, an associate professor of public health at Fayetteville State, said students in the program will shape how the $10,000 award is used to reduce health disparities and increase health equity in the community. Some of the students have lived experiences related to issues that need addressing, Haithcox-Dennis said.

“Our communities are always going to be, unfortunately, subjected to environmental concerns, health concerns,” Stafford said. “With the recent natural disasters we’re seeing — not only with the fires in California but at home here with Helene recently — it was important for us to have conversations around what agency and resiliency, specifically to our communities, means, because that conversation, I haven’t heard it.”