Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition Summit is a gathering for Michigan organizers, artists, frontline families, and more to rally together to share our stories, dream of a better future, and co-create solutions.
This year's summit's theme is Centering Our Dreams, Determining Our Future. And we will celebrate the culture, creativity, and community power needed to create a better environmental future for all!
SUMMIT GOALS
At this years summit we will activate our Collective Power to:
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Understand the environmental justice landscape
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Envision a healthier, safer, and cleaner Michigan
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Cultivate a strategy to move this vision forward
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Enjoy art, music, healing, and connecting with folks from throughout the state
WHY?
We have corporations, elected officials and more imposing their visions and goals on communities, stripping people of their power and destroying the plant in the process. They’ve dreamt of data centers that steal water, coal plants that pollute our air, the elimination of green jobs, polluted water and land and rising utility costs for Michigan families. They are comfortable building a world that values profits over the people and planet!
We know that our fate and future belong to the people! Not the politicians. Not the wealthy.
That is why, in honor of the 35th year anniversary of the People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit this year we will be Centering Our Dreams, Determining Our Future together. Join us in co-creating a people-powered future!
EVENT SCHEDULE
Doors open
Breakfast + Morning Mingle
8:30 AM
Meet our MC: Dr. Kyle Whyte, MEJC Board Member
Kyle Whyte is an environmental justice organizer, educator, and researcher, currently serving as the George Willis Pack Professor at the University of Michigan, where he teaches in the environmental justice graduate program. Kyle is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and devotes much of his career to the Indigenous climate justice movement. Kyle currently serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the Board of Directors of the Pesticide Action Network North America, and the lead author team of the 5th U.S. National Climate Assessment.
Opening Ceremony and Performance
9:00 AM
Opening Speaker: Michelle Martinez
Michelle Martinez is the inaugural director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment at SEAS. She has 15 years of experience of practicing environmental justice in her hometown of Detroit. Most recently she served as Executive Director of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition; she is a founding member of the Coalition and continues to serve on the board. Michelle also serves on the Board of Directors of We the People Michigan, and is a contributing columnist to Planet Detroit, an online publication serving Detroit audiences with climate and environmental news.
Community Visioning with the EJ Caucus
Centering Our Dreams with us at the summit by envisioning what our communities could look like in 2031 with the Environmental Justice Caucus. The Environmental Justice Caucus is established for the purpose of advancing environmental justice policy in the Michigan Legislature. To this end, the Environmental Justice Caucus serves as a forum for education, relationship-building, and collaborative policy development between legislators and grassroots environmental justice advocates representing communities across the state of Michigan.
Morning Panel
10:00 AM
State of Environmental Justice: From Principles to Power
October 2026 marks the 35th anniversary of the People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit which adopted the 17 Environmental Justice principles created by BIPOC and frontline community leaders and groups, to build a national and international movement for our land and communities. This panel discussion will examine how organizers have used these principles to power the EJ movement to protect our air, water, land, energy, and communities in Michigan. This session will highlight the current Environmental Justice landscape to amplify the concerns, wins, and systemic challenges facing our communities. Speaker #1: Michelle Martinez, Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment Speaker #2: Kareem Scales, Greater Grand Rapids NAACP Speaker #3: Sergio Cira-Reyes, Urban Core Collective Speaker #4: Michelle Jones, Soulardarity Speaker 5: Nayyirah Shariff , Flint Rising
Morning Breakout Sessions
11:00 AM
Strengthen the Movement: The MI Healthy Climate Justice Accelerator Discussion
The MI Healthy Climate Justice Accelerator is a successful two year running partnership between the Department of Great Lakes, Energy, & Environment (EGLE), Elevate Energy, and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. Supporting 25 community based organizations across the State of Michigan, technical assistance is provided along with professional development and training, covering a wide range of topics from grant management to insight on state funding opportunities. During this workshop participants will hear from cohort representatives from the MI Healthy Climate Justice Accelerator program and learn more about their experience, the successes of this program, and lessons learned so far. Facilitator(s): Latia Leonard (MEJC), Hudson Villeneuve (Elevate Energy), Tanesha Windom (BASS, Inc), Janae Wilson (DREAM of Detroit)
The Foundations and Future of the Environmental Justice Movement
Where did the environmental justice movement come from? Learn about origins of the environmental justice movement, including the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership summit that helped to launch the movement 35 years ago, from two Detroiters who attended this historic event. We will share a brief history of environmental justice in Detroit, and hold a discussion with participants about lessons for the movement now and in the future. Facilitator(s): Donele Wilkins, Green Door Initiative and Kathryn Savoie, MEJC Board
We Almost Lost Detroit: AI & the Ongoing fight against Nuclear Power
The nuclear industry is seeking a revival, particularly through data centers and small modular nuclear reactors (SMNRs). While SMNRs are promoted as new technology, Gil Scott-Heron's 1977 song "We Almost Lost Detroit" highlights how Metro-Detroit has already experienced the negative impacts of this industry. Let’s explore Detroit’s history with nuclear reactors by examining the 1966 partial meltdown of Fermi 1 in Monroe, Michigan, as a case study for the dangers of SMNRs. Join us to discuss how to challenge the "tech and nuke" culture and build a stronger movement against nuclear colonialism. Facilitator: Jesse Deer In Water, Citizens’ Resistance At Fermi Two (CRAFT)
Lunch
12:00 PM
Keynote Address
12:30 AM
Keynote Speaker: LaTricea D. Adams, MAT, EdS., Young, Gifted & Green
LaTricea Adams is the Founder and CEO of Young, Gifted & Green, an organization focused on environmental justice and civil rights. Her journey to environmental justice started in the wake of the Flint Water Crisis over a decade ago. Ms. Adams is a proud HBCU graduate and was the youngest African American woman and only K-12 educator appointed to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council where she was a champion for children's and maternal health. Throughout her career, she has received many accolades and has held various leadership roles in community, educational, governmental, environmental, and public health organizations including the American Public Health Association's Environmental Health Council, American Bard Association EJ Task Force, and many more.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
1:00 PM
Youth: The Future. The Present. The Power.
For generations, we have been reminded through music, culture, and community that children are our future. But, what power are we giving them today to help determine that future? Young Gifted & Green has successfully put that belief into action through the Youth Energy Assessor Program (YEAP) and is ready to help other environmental justice organizations do the same. This interactive session co-presented by YEAP participants and leadership challenges traditional approaches to youth engagement in environmental justice by exploring how organizations move beyond youth participation toward meaningful youth power. Participants will leave with practical tactics for creating youth-led, community-based environmental justice programs that build stronger, more engaged communities. Facilitator: Destiny Quarm, Young, Gifted & Green
Sacredness of Water: A Case Study of Learning from Water
Water is Life. Water is a sacred gift and trust. Michigan Green Muslims, a statewide grassroots group, shares their learning from their flowing relationship with water .. connecting faith, spirituality, environmental justice, sustainability, and healing through education and service. Within a confluence of an interconnected open-circle model, a systems thinking and collaborative action framework, we will dive into water words, and tap into alternative narratives around water and climate to influence solutions and policy development that center impacted communities with ripples to planetary health. Facilitator: Huda Alkaff, Michigan Green Muslims
Organizing for Local Power : Why We Need Electric Municipalization
Michigan investor-owned utilities, particularly DTE and Consumers, are monopolistic, exploitative structures, and the system responsible for regulating them, the MPSC, is broken, but there is another way Michiganders could get their electricity. There are over 40 municipalities in Michigan that distribute their own electricity, and these communities have cheaper and more reliable electricity. We in Ann Arbor for Public Power have spent the past 5+ years researching how to replace DTE with a municipal electric utility and organizing to pursue that path politically. We’ll tell the story of our campaign and how we got to where we’re at, the story of some other municipalization campaigns, and then will ask everyone to share what they want from an electric utility and discuss together how to organize for a brighter future for Michigan powered by energy democracy rather than profit-seeking. Facilitators: Sean Higgins & Chuck Loucks, Ann Arbor for Public Power
Making Our Voices Heard: Postcards for Clean Air
It's time to take action for our air! Join us for a session to discuss our local air quality concerns and learn about its current state in Michigan. During this session, we will cover: The causes of air pollution and how climate change exacerbates air quality issues, How to advocate for policies that protect public health, and write postcards to Michigan leaders to share our stories. Facilitators: Salam Beydoun, Ecology Center & Clear the Air Ellen Vial, Michigan Environmental Council Jolani Perez, Green Door Initiative
Afternoon Panel
3:00 PM
Closing Remarks
4:00 PM
Closing Speaker: Nayirrah Shariff, Flint Rising
Nayyirah Shariff is a grassroots organizer based in Flint, Michigan. Nayyirah was one of the co-founders of the Flint Democracy Defense League, a grassroots group formed to confront Flint’s emergency manager in 2011. They have more than ten years of experience organizing around local, state, and national electoral and issue campaigns. They have been featured on Democracy Now!, Move to Amend podcast, Al-Jazeera, and Netroots National speaking out about the problems with Flint’s water and with Michigan’s emergency management of local governments. They are currently the director of Flint Rising (https://flintrising.com/), a coalition of Flint residents and community groups, labor, and progressive allies that formed in response to Flint’s emergency declaration.
Accommodations
We want this to be an fun and energizing experience for all which is why we are offering:
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Free event, child care, and food
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Hotel Accommodations for qualified participants
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Travel Stipends for qualified participants
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Free vibes and community