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Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman returned to Rocky Mount this week, this time for an environmental justice conference.

Katey and other graduates of North Carolina Conservation Network’s Environmental Justice Leadership Academy met up at the Area L Area Health Education Centers office to discuss the issues their organizations are working on and how they can work together for greater impact.

Cohosted by NC Conservation Network and Sound Rivers, the Northeast Regional Environmental Justice Convening drew members from NC Black Alliance, Warren County Environmental Action Team, Common Cause, Black Voters Matter, MDC, GROW and others organizations.

“We talked about our individual organizations and the work we do, the community work,” Katey said.

Part of the process was exploring current issues and determining how one organization’s work overlaps with the work done by other organizations.

“I talked a little bit about data centers and the work that’s going on there, but the larger picture was more about how disenfranchised communities are more impacted by environmental issues and looping that into access to food and health issues,” Katey said.

After a panel discussion consisting of Katey, Rev. Bill Kearney, Chair of the Warren County Environmental Action Team and Earline Middleton, Vice President of Partner Services and Public Policy of Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, attendees split into smaller groups to address issues’ overlap on a smaller scale.

“It was really difficult to decide how to split up the groups because all the issues are related, but one group was energy issues and water quality, another was food systems and CAFOs and the other was civic engagement,” Katey said. “I think everyone in the groups brought something different to the conversation, and our group talked about issues with local government decision making and transparency surrounding that. Sometimes it feels like you’re working in silos, but everyone’s really doing the same kind of stuff.”

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