2020-2021 Annual Report Now Live

Below is an excerpt from our latest Annual Report, which can be found here.

This has been a stressful and difficult year, on campus and around the world. We have seen many of the world’s inequalities laid bare as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe. COVID-related deaths and economic fallout from the pandemic are felt unequally, with low-income and communities of color bearing the brunt. Meanwhile the climate crisis continues to grow in urgency as we are witnessing increasingly dangerous droughts, wildfires, heat waves, and storms. Again, poor communities and communities of color are most vulnerable to these events and have the fewest resources to recover.

The intersectionality between racial, economic and environmental justice is undeniable and central to the work the Tishman Center does on campus and around the nation. While the roots of American racism run deep and are multidimensional, the Tishman Center is hopeful that as we continue to raise and discuss it, even in uncomfortable conversations, we will move towards a more equitable and just society. In this very difficult year, Tishman Center has remained stalwart in pursuing our mission to advance environmental and climate justice in intersectional and transdisciplinary ways. We continued working with our partners, allies, and campus community through public and campus events, collaborative community-based research, and movement building support.

This past academic year, we engaged over 2,000 participants in a series of exciting, virtual events discussing these issues and more, including our annual Earth Week series. Ripe for Creative Disruption: An Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship, launched its group application this past Summer under the leadership of our new Fellowship Director and national climate justice leader Angela Mahecha and co-founders Dr. Sujatha Jesudasen and Dr. Ana Baptista. The Fellowship is being developed in coordination with the EJ Movement and will support the capacity of leaders nationwide to design, scale, and implement innovative strategies to advance systemic solutions to the urgent crises of climate change and inequality. Four to eight groups of EJ leaders will be invited to participate in the fellowship this fall.

The Tishman Center has been active in helping craft equitable climate policies including working with the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform on recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative which requires 40% of federal climate-related investments go to EJ communities. Finally, Ana and I have been named panelists for the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) 2023 report. Now more than ever, our work as a university center is crucial to supporting communities on campus and across the nation. We must support each other moving forward and in that find the strength and hope we need to bring about real change. We look forward to working with you and our allies to advance climate justice on campus and beyond.