What are some of the biggest challenges facing the environmental justice movement in California today, and how is CEJA addressing these challenges?
How does CEJA approach community engagement and leadership development, and what role do community organizations play in the organization's work?
From the sources shared on their website, they seem to be well-regarded by major news outlets and other sources for media. CEJA’s headlines are generally featured as necessary and critical to the context in which they advocate for communities of color disproportionately impacted by higher exposure to pollution. Of course, though, prominent industry leaders for oil and agriculture are opponents of this organization.
This organization is a coalition of other organizations; therefore, they work intimately with core members; Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment (CRPE), Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights (PODER)
And community partners; Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles, and Strategic Concepts in Organizing Policy Education (SCOPE).
CEJA does not necessarily have any claims of it using any unique strategies for addressing the problems they work on. If anything, I would note that the fact it is a coalition of multiple Environmental Justice Organizations from all over California would be characteristic enough to stand out.
The principal initiatives of CEJA campaigns are central to Policy Advocacy, Community Organizing, Research and Analysis, and Leadership development. They work to advance local, state, and federal environmental justice policies. A research and analysis team can provide evidence of the harmful effects of various pollutants that affect their communities, educate local stakeholders on these issues, and promote engagement of historically underrepresented groups to champion policy to address these concerns.
This organization comprises a coalition of other environmental justice organizations throughout California. Each of the individual organizations has a representative on the CEJA Steering Committee. The CEJA also has a staff team that includes an Executive Director, Development Director, Communications Manager, Policy Analysts, Grant Writers, and a suite of Program and Campaign Managers.