Bridging Economic And Climate Resilience w/ Jacqueline Patterson @ MBE

This event is happening as part of the Mass Black Expo November 1st - 2nd: Check out and register for the rest of the Expo here: hwww.massblackexpo.com.

A #BlackTrust Conversation with Jacqueline Patterson, Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, joined by Nia Evans, Director of Boston Ujima Project and Joyce Clark, Community Health Expert and Environmental and Climate Justice Chair for the New England Area Conference Region II of the NAACP.

Systems of oppression maintain inequities of impact, access, and power. For Black communities and communities of color across the US, this inequity has arisen through the racist impacts of climate change, pollution, access to resources, education, and much more. In our session, Jacqueline Patterson, Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, will share insights from decades of experience leading on women‘s rights, violence against women, HIV&AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental and climate justice. Ms. Patterson will be joined in conversation by Nia Evans, Director of the Boston Ujima Project, and Joyce Clark, Community Health Expert and Environmental and Climate Justice Chair for the New England Area Conference Region II of the NAACP.

What is the connection between confronting climate change and building self determination and wealth for Black communities? What new finance and economic models are needed for our communities to address the urgency of both the climate crisis and racial inequity?

...Join us to learn from the leadership and insights of three women working to develop innovative and rooted solutions for community resilience at the intersections of climate & economic challenges.

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About Ujima’s #BlackTrust Series:

Since December 2017, Ujima has been organizing the Chuck Turner #BlackTrust Arts & Lecture Series. Ujima's Director, Nia Evans, speaks to the significance of #BlackTrust: “Like Black Lives Matter, Black Trust is an external and more importantly internal declaration and commitment, and we place it in the lineage of Black Love, Black Excellence, and Black Joy. We are in the midst of a paradigm shift, a reclamation of power in every aspect of our lives. We plan to see our agenda through. Cooperative economics, solidarity economy, economic democracy will become household terms. Relationships will not be transactional or zero sum. Relationships will be organized around and incentivized by mutual benefit and health. We will trust each other. Black Trust.”

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About the Speakers:
JACQUELINE PATTERSON is the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program. Since 2007 Patterson has served as coordinator & co-founder of Women of Color United. Jacqui Patterson has worked as a researcher, program manager, coordinator, advocate and activist working on women‘s rights, violence against women, HIV&AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental and climate justice. Patterson served as a Senior Women’s Rights Policy Analyst for ActionAid where she integrated a women’s rights lens for the issues of food rights, macroeconomics, and climate change as well as the intersection of violence against women and HIV&AIDS. Previously, she served as Assistant Vice-President of HIV/AIDS Programs for IMA World Health providing management and technical assistance to medical facilities and programs in 23 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Patterson served as the Outreach Project Associate for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Research Coordinator for Johns Hopkins University. She also served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica, West Indies.

NIA K. EVANS is the Director of the Boston Ujima Project. Her educational background is in the areas of labor relations, education leadership, and policy. Her advocacy includes a focus on eliminating barriers between analysts and people with lived experiences as well as increasing acknowledgement of the value of diverse types of expertise in policy.
She is a co-creator, along with artist Tomashi Jackson, of Frames Debate Project, a multimedia policy debate project that explores the intersection between drug policy, mental health services and incarceration in the state of Massachusetts.

Ms. Evans has a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership, with a course of study in Leadership, Policy, and Politics from Teachers College at Columbia University. She also studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where she focused on International Labor Relations.

JOYCE CLARK is the Program Coordinator for the Center of Clinical Investigation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is also on the Boston NAACP Executive Committee, and served for 4 years as the Health Chair for the Boston NAACP Health Committee. She was recently appointed as the Environmental and Climate Justice Chair for the New England Area Conference Region II of the NAACP. Ms. Clark’s community leadership experience works to promote, protect and maintain the health of urban communities. In addition, she advocates for equal access to health education, care, treatment and research for all people of color, while sponsoring health-related activities such as health forums, fairs and workshops highlighting issues of importance to people of color. Ms. Clark is also a practicing Doula since 1998 and continues to support women’s maternal health outcomes. Ms. Clark is a founding member of the Boston Ujima Project, a leading member of the Ujima Podcast Team, and was elected to sit on the Community Standards Committee since April 2018.

CO-HOSTED BY BOSTON UJIMA PROJECT, BLACK ECONOMIC COUNCIL OF MA, UMASS BOSTON SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS LAB, AND CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY