Statement on Justice, Race, and Responsibility

Justice, race, and responsibility

During the COVID-19 crisis, the people of southwestern Pennsylvania have learned much about who we are, who we want to be, and the need for unity and leadership in the face of loss and uncertainty. The pandemic continues to cause great change, even as we navigate what it means to reopen. Recent events in Minneapolis and across the nation are reinforcing the critical need to intentionally address racism and develop systems that work for everyone.

This turbulent time presents a unique opportunity to rebuild a stronger, more resilient region together. A responsible recovery from COVID-19 and from our legacy of racism begins with addressing the essential challenges before us and planning our best next steps. Now is the time to build a society that is truly founded upon justice for all, and comes from understanding and respecting the interconnectedness of all people, our health, our environment, and our prosperity.

Tragedy has caused the nation to focus on rectifying discrimination in the criminal justice system that unfairly targets Black and Brown America. This type of discrimination is not the only evidence of structural racism in our society. We must acknowledge that racial justice is interwoven through all conversations, including those about health and the environment. For example, as we have seen from CDC data, COVID-19 is widening existing racial gaps in health equity. Similarly, vulnerable populations are disproportionately impacted by pollution. A responsible path forward, and likewise, a responsible recovery, takes information like this into account, and makes sure that workplace and governmental policies support, not hinder, our ability to be healthy and to fix our systems and communities so they are fair for everyone. Our organizations stand aligned with all who are committed to building on this moment of anguish toward a just future.

A responsible path forward intentionally strengthens the resilience of our natural world and ensures a healthier region, including clean air, clean water, access to outdoor green spaces, and a stable climate—for all. Reductions in carbon emissions and increases in clean energy usage will help curb the increasing extreme weather impacts already being experienced in Pittsburgh, like flooding and poor air quality—also disproportionately felt.

A responsible path forward means, too, an investment in a sustainable, equitable economic future. Responsible stimulus investments in infrastructure, transportation, food systems, energy, etc. are tools to simultaneously advance our well-being, environmental performance and economic prosperity. Clean energy jobs are an important driver of regional job growth of which we should take full advantage. However, to realize this promise, it is required that we remove barriers and be deliberate about an effort to ensure that Black and Brown residents, and others who have been excluded from full participation in the economy, are included.

Our organizations will use the wealth of knowledge and the resources we have to make connections, listen to community voices and priorities, and help create a responsible recovery from COVID-19 and from the terror of racism. This is a critical moment for the region, one where our moral path forward and practical measures for rebuilding align. As organizations dedicated to promoting the conservation of this region’s natural assets and protecting the future of the people living in it, we urge other leaders in the region to be proactive in their planning. We have the tools to meet the challenges before us. Together, we will rebuild a more resilient, even greater Pittsburgh region, for all. Signed by:

Organization                                                 Name                                                Title                        
Allegheny CleanWays                         Myrna Newman                        Executive Director
Allegheny Land Trust                          Chris Beichner                           President & CEO
Audubon Society of Western            Jim Bonner                                 Executive Director
Pennsylvania
BikePGH                                                 Scott Bricker                              Executive Director
Breathe Project                                     Matthew Mehalik                      Executive Director
Center of Life                                        Tim Smith                                   Executive Director
Communitopia                                      Katie Modic                                Executive Director
Conservation Consultants Inc.           Jeaneen A. Zappa                     Executive Director
Construction Junction                         Mike Gable                                 Executive Director
Fair Shake Environmental Legal        Emily A. Collins                             E.D./Managing Atty.
Services  
Friends of the Riverfront                     Kelsey Ripper                            Executive Director
Group Against Smog & Pollution      Rachel Filippini                          Executive Director
Green Building Alliance                     Jenna Cramer                             Executive Director
Grounded Strategies                          Ariam Ford-Graver                     Executive Director
Grow Pittsburgh                                  Jake Seltman                              Executive Director
Homewood Children’s Village         Walter Lewis                               President & CEO
Keystone Energy Efficiency              Matt Elliott                                   Executive Director
Alliance
Landforce                                            Ilyssa Manspeizer                      Executive Director
New Sun Rising                                  Scott Wolovich                           Executive Director
Nine Mile Run Watershed                Brenda Lynn Smith                    Executive Director
Association
PennFuture                                         Jacquelyn Bonomo                   President and CEO
Pennsylvania Resources Council    Justin Stockdale                        Managing Director
Pennsylvania Solar Center               Sharon (Pillar) Grace                 Founder and Director
Phipps Conservatory & Botanical   Richard V. Piacentini                  President and CEO
Gardens
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy        Catherine Qureshi                      Acting COO
Plant Five for Life                               Christine Graziano                     President
Riverlife                                                Matthew Galluzzo                     President & CEO
RiverWise                                            Daniel Rossi-Keen                     Executive Director
Student Conservation Assoc.          Jennifer Meccariello Layman  Regional Vice Pres.
Sustainable Pittsburgh                      Joylette Portlock                       Executive Director
The Forbes Funds                              Fred Brown                                 President and CEO
Tree Pittsburgh                                   Danielle Crumrine                     Executive Director
Triboro Ecodistrict                              Brian Wolovich                           Director
UrbanKind Institute                           Jamil Bey                                     President
Venture Outdoors                              Valerie Beichner                         President & CEO
Western Pennsylvania                      Thomas D. Saunders                 President & CEO
Conservancy
Women for a Healthy                        Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis    Executive Director
​Environment