HISTORY, MISSION & VISION
Background
The Midwest has experienced the results of economic, political, and social practices that are out of alignment with nature, democracy, and economic justice. In response, the region has supported long–standing struggles for Indigenous sovereignty, powerful movements for civil rights, and the birthplace of the labor movement. Our communities continue to face intense pressures of displacement, ongoing attacks on public education and collective bargaining, and enduring structures that perpetuate police brutality, mass incarceration, and environmental racism. Urban and rural frontline EJ communities in the Midwest also face the direct impacts of climate change and ongoing dependency on fossil fuels. They also often lack access to safe and clean water resources and affordable drinking water.
The idea of the Midwest Environmental Justice Network (MWEJN) was birthed in 2008 when Shalini Gupta and Dr. Cecilia Martinez (co-founders of CEED), and Kim Wasserman (LVEJO) met at the WEACT EJ Leadership Forum conference in New York. Although based in Chicago and Minneapolis they realized the local EJ movements they were building had a lot to learn from each other. CEED supported LVEJO with research and policy in the campaign to shut down the Crawford and Fisk Coal Power Plants in Chicago. That partnership allowed them to see the benefit of creating the space for EJ leaders in the region to connect, share strategies and challenges, and build a stronger collective EJ voice in the Midwest. They organized and facilitated the first gathering of Midwest EJ leaders in Minneapolis, funded by the Headwaters Foundation for Justice.
The Midwest EJ Network as we know it today took shape through the stewardship of its first leadership team which consisted of Shalini Gupta from the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy, Will Copeland & Diana Copeland from the East Michigan Environmental Action Coalition, and Antonio Lopez from Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. The Network has continued to grow and evolve with organizations from across the Midwest participating in committees to shape the structure of the network and advise on grant-making priorities.
MWEJN is currently anchored by CEED. based in Minneapolis, MN; We the People of Detroit (WPD), based in Detroit, MI; and the LVEJO; based in Chicago, IL. The Leadership Team of MWEJN includes a representative from each anchor organization
Mission
The mission of the Midwest Environmental Justice Network is to connect and strengthen frontline and grassroots organizations to achieve environmental justice in the Midwest.
Led by, and accountable to, its members, the Midwest Environmental Justice Network achieves this mission by:
Increasing general operating and emergency response funding and resources for grassroots and Indigenous communities
Supporting relationship-building through gatherings, regular communication, and idea exchanges
Co-creating and ensuring implementation of a just policy agenda for the region
Holding space for sharing resources, facilitating training, and peer-to-peer learning
The Network seeks to increase the capacity and impact of environmental justice leaders and organizations based in the tribal nations and following Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
Vision
The vision of the Midwest Environmental Justice Network is to create a region where grassroots & Indigenous groups have the resources, capacity, and power to achieve self-determination for their communities.
We envision a region that is comprised of communities where:
All people live and work in healthy neighborhoods with access to safe and just water, food, and energy
There is economic, political, and environmental justice
Resources are shared equitably
Decisions are made democratically and difference is celebrated
Humans live in harmony and reciprocity with the natural world
Photo in header taken by Emma Lockridge