Brentin Mock on environmental justice in Washington, D.C.:
Jackie Ward of the Ward 8 Environmental Council in D.C. once did “something crazy” for the Anacostia neighborhood. With the help of colleagues, co-workers, and friends, Ward convinced the District of Columbia Public Schools to release the most troublesome 7- to 9-year-old students from Southeast D.C.’s poor, black community, for a weekend of camping and learning about their outdoor environment. The outing was near Marvin Gaye Park, an area that was once a haven for junkies until community volunteers cleared it of thousands of hypodermic needles.
Ward calls it “something crazy” because no one there had thought environmental issues were that important. She suspects that many who endure financial hardship today in Ward 8 may find it difficult to latch onto new “green” economic policies being implemented in their neighborhoods without having had environmental education early in their life.
