CRPE seems to be proud that they are working within the San Joaquin Valley in one of the most polluted areas in the nation, “West of the Mississippi.” It also claims that by empowering locals with the necessary resources, they can amplify the already “robust vision for change” as well as “the willpower [of the community] to make it happen.”
They share the cases they are actively working on and provide further details and documentation of how those legal battles proceed. I feel as if the information itself is credible because of the validity of the organization's purpose and then the team of active lawyers working on each case.
CRPE seems most proactive around legal advocacy work. They support and represent the needs of the communities they work with to help them reach their goals.
The most recent document relating to their Financial Statement is from the 2015 fiscal year. From what is detailed in the statement, the majority of their financial expenses come from grants.
There is a team of Directors, Staff Attorneys, and a suite of Community Organizers under the Director of Organizing who all seem to be natives of the local area. There are also two coordinator positions for Economic Development and Communications. A Board of Directors also serves as vision makers for the organization's future.
“Our mission is to achieve environmental justice and healthy, sustainable communities through collective action and the law. CRPE is a national environmental justice organization providing legal, organizing, and technical assistance to grassroots groups in low-income communities and communities of color.”
Their work is constructed around four* major campaigns;
Sustainable Agriculture – Empowering grassroots groups to combat the adverse effects of the industrial agricultural industry
Climate Change And Energy – Addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change on low-income communities and communities of color
Community Investment And Infrastructure – Working with communities to hold public officials accountable for ensuring essential public services through community education and public policy advocacy training.
Toxics and The Environment – Fighting violation-prone toxic waste dumps and advocating for a just, state-wide policy to responsibly handle our waste while protecting civil rights and encouraging healthy communities.
Movement Building – CRPE is unique in how we carry out our mission of achieving environmental justice and sustainable health communities because of our model to develop community leaders.
CRPE believes in a “Theory of Change” where they operate with a mindset that “legal advocacy needs to be community based to be successful” CRPE represents the needs of the communities [they serve] and works directly with them to achieve their goals.
The Center on Race. Poverty and the Environment (CRPE) was founded in 1989 by Luke Cole and Ralph Abascal. Both attorneys represented predominantly low-income communities and clients from diverse backgrounds, such as farm workers, people of color, disabled persons, immigrants, and students.
Together, they created the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment “...to achieve environmental justice and healthy, sustainable communities through collective action and the law.”
Their service area is centralized in the California San Joaquin Valley, where there are heavily polluted communities due to the proximity of intense oil and gas production and the agricultural industry.
The counties in this region are ranked the lowest regarding income, education, and health outcomes.
Thinking through this article and Vermeylen's, something we might consider in ATX is how we conceptualize community itself. It is so easy in EJ-contexts to make communities our object of study and analysis, which can erase identities and exclusions within them...
How is ecological harm and gentrification experienced by LGBTQ people in Austin? Women? Etcetera?