2024 HBCU Environmental Justice Climate Corps Kick Off

The 2024 HBCU Environmental Justice Climate Corps kicked off its 2nd annual summer internship program on June 3rd with 21 eager HBCU students from 10 different HBCU's.  Students this year listened intently at the start of the program while the father of Environmental Justice, Dr. Robert Bullard, highlighted his four decades of work, and the principles and history of Environmental Justice and the Civil Rights Movement.

The week concluded with an overview of how communities are impacted by environmental exposures, an introduction to GIS mapping and a toxic tour of parts of Northeast Houston. The students were moved and inspired by the first week of activities and have already pledged to become change agents and strong advocates for environmental justice to continue the movement.

Sasha Flynn, a broadcast journalism major at Texas Southern University, remarked about one of the things that stood out to her, “It was just overwhelming about how many contaminated sites we have here right in our own neighborhood and unfortunately how the city doesn’t have any awareness towards it. What’s important to me is trying to figure out ways that we can do a better job of trying to make sure our neighborhoods are aware.”

Angelic Gonzalez,  a student majoring in Astrology at Prairie View A&M University, reflected, “It (toxic tour) educated me on what should be done differently and how to process change because if no one says anything, nothing will change. Everyone will stay in the same state of mind.”

The EJCC Program is made possible by a $1.5 million grant from the Macquarie Group Foundation and is part of Center's HBCU Climate Change Consortium initiative.

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