Ivy Talk: Shaping Justice
In this talk, Dr. Kimberly Fields will explore the development and adoption of three mid-Atlantic states’ first wave of Environmental Justice (EJ)-focused policies. Through these, she will examine the dynamic relationships between community activism, institutions, and the state's environmental justice efforts.
Drawing on several theories, Dr. Fields will analyze how grassroots activists shaped the content and form of these policies. She will look at critical moments when their efforts succeeded or faced limitations. This talk will illuminate the role of local, grassroots movements in influencing the substance of EJ policy, especially during the early stages of the policymaking process. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities for grassroots activism within the public policymaking landscape, and how these movements continue to impact environmental justice initiatives today.
Dr. Kimberly Fields is an Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at the University of Virginia. Trained as a political scientist, she examines government responses to environmental inequality in the United States. Her interests, training and expertise lie at the intersection of Black politics, environmental studies, public policy, and state and local politics. Her recent work focuses on official government (state and local) efforts to address the racial dimensions of environmental inequality through public policy. In it she explores the development, implementation and political consequences of these efforts and analyzes the role(s) of political discourse, issue framing and policy-making processes in shaping government responses, institutional outcomes and political participation.
Fields holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in political science from Howard University, and a B.A. in political science from Temple University. She is teaching a course this fall on the relationship between race, class, politics and the environment.
This talk is being held on Zoom. Register here to receive the link: https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/0vzppv