Environmental Racism: Identifying and Combating Injustice in our Communities and Beyond At Clark

WORCESTER, MA — Clark University is hosting “Environmental Racism: Identifying and Combating Injustice in our Communities and Beyond,” a talk by emergency preparedness expert Dr. Atyia S. Martin and community organizer Rushelle Frazier at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 21, in the Higgins Lounge, Dana Commons, Clark University campus, said the announcement.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh appointed Dr. Martin as Boston’s first Chief Resilience Officer in August 2015. The goal of Dr. Martin’s two-year position, which is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities program, is to look at how ongoing issues like income inequality, a lack of affordable housing, poverty and racism could play a role in recovery from a disaster.

She is developing a resilience strategy for Boston and leading a city-wide effort to help Boston prepare for, withstand and recover from disasters such as floods, infrastructure failure and terrorism in addition to her focus on addressing social and economic issues.

Dr. Martin previously served as the director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness at the Boston Public Health Commission. She is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and has worked for the FBI and National Security Agency. She has also taught in the Master of Homeland Security program at Northeastern University.
Rushelle Frazier is a queer black feminist writer, permaculture educator, urban farmer, counselor and organizer. She is a member of the 2015 Worcester Slam Team and co-coordinator of Choice Words Poetry Series. Frazier uses her passion for poetry and writing as a vehicle for justice and education, and has organized the Worcester Youth Spoken Word since 2015 and is the co-originator of the Dirty Gerund Poetry Show. She is also founder of Neighborhood Botanicals, a Worcester-based company that provides herbal education and related products and services.

This free, public talk is sponsored by the Clark Sustainability Collaborative and Black Student Union. For more information, contact CSC_EBoard@lists.clarku.edu.

Information and photo submitted by Clark University