About
About The Project
Climates of Inequality is a participatory public memory project created by students, educators, and community leaders in over 20 cities across the US and around the world. Local teams work together to activate the histories of “frontline” communities: those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis but bear its heaviest burdens. Their multi-media portraits expose the roots of current environmental injustice, and share generations of frontline communities’ strategies for resistance, resilience, and mitigation. The project promotes future visions for confronting the climate crisis that understand, and undo, past environmental harms. By compiling these histories in an evolving, internationally traveling exhibit with local events at every stop, this project seeks to affirm frontline communities’ work and inspire others to action for climate and environmental justice.
Your community’s story is critical for building global vision and action. Learn how to add your history or bring the project to your city.
Climates of Inequality is a project of the Humanities Action Lab, a coalition of universities led by Rutgers University-Newark working with issue organizations and public spaces to create traveling public projects on the past, present, and future of pressing social issues.
Partners
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Albany, NYSee Local StoryPartners:
- Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy (SHARE)
- Skidmore College
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Durham, NCSee Local StoryPartners:
- Pauli Murray Project and the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice
- Duke University
- Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute
- Duke Campus Farm
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Greensboro and Princeville, NCSee Local StoryPartners:
- FaithAction International House
- University of North Carolina Greensboro
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Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, CASee Local StoryPartners:
- Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)
- East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
- University of California, Riverside
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Magdalena River, ColombiaSee Local StoryPartners:
- Acopesca, Asopein, Asopesarhon, Asapevema, Asopestol, Fuentemar, Famipez, Fepescarmar, and other riverside communities
- Universidad de los Andes and Universidad del Rosario
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Mayagüez, PRSee Local StoryPartners:
- Fundación Surfrider Rincón
- Fundación de Culebra
- Sandra Farms
- University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
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Mexico City, MexicoSee Local StoryPartners:
- CIUDADania19s
- Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa
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New Brunswick, NJSee Local StoryPartners:
- New Labor
- Rutgers University-New Brunswick Department of History
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New Orleans, LASee Local StoryPartners:
- The Louisiana Bucket Brigade
- Hidden History
- New Orleans People's Assembly
- University of New Orleans
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Newark, NJ (Alternative Futures)See Local StoryPartners:
- Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC)
- The New School
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Newark, NJ (Building Resistance)See Local StoryPartners:
- Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC)
- Rutgers University-Newark
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Oxnard and San Fernando, CASee Local StoryPartners:
- Padres Pioneros/Parent Pioneers
- California State University, Northridge and University of California, Santa Barbara
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Philadelphia, PASee Local StoryPartners:
- Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition
- John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
- University of Pennsylvania
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Phoenix, AZ, and the Colorado River BasinSee Local StoryPartners:
- Arizona Historical Society
- Arizona State University
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Ringwood, NJSee Local StoryPartners:
- The Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lunaape Nation
- Rutgers University–New Brunswick Department of Landscape Architecture
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Springfield, MASee Local StoryPartners:
- Arise for Social Justice
- Neighbor to Neighbor
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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The BahamasSee Local Story
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Twin Cities, MinnesotaSee Local StoryPartners:
- Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED)
- University of Minnesota
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Albany, NYSee Local StoryPartners:
- Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy (SHARE)
- Skidmore College
-
Durham, NCSee Local StoryPartners:
- Pauli Murray Project and the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice
- Duke University
- Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute
- Duke Campus Farm
-
Greensboro and Princeville, NCSee Local StoryPartners:
- FaithAction International House
- University of North Carolina Greensboro
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Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, CASee Local StoryPartners:
- Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)
- East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
- University of California, Riverside
-
Magdalena River, ColombiaSee Local StoryPartners:
- Acopesca, Asopein, Asopesarhon, Asapevema, Asopestol, Fuentemar, Famipez, Fepescarmar, and other riverside communities
- Universidad de los Andes and Universidad del Rosario
-
Mayagüez, PRSee Local StoryPartners:
- Fundación Surfrider Rincón
- Fundación de Culebra
- Sandra Farms
- University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
-
Mexico City, MexicoSee Local StoryPartners:
- CIUDADania19s
- Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa
-
New Brunswick, NJSee Local StoryPartners:
- New Labor
- Rutgers University-New Brunswick Department of History
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New Orleans, LASee Local StoryPartners:
- The Louisiana Bucket Brigade
- Hidden History
- New Orleans People's Assembly
- University of New Orleans
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Newark, NJ (Alternative Futures)See Local StoryPartners:
- Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC)
- The New School
-
Newark, NJ (Building Resistance)See Local StoryPartners:
- Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC)
- Rutgers University-Newark
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Oxnard and San Fernando, CASee Local StoryPartners:
- Padres Pioneros/Parent Pioneers
- California State University, Northridge and University of California, Santa Barbara
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Philadelphia, PASee Local StoryPartners:
- Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition
- John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
- University of Pennsylvania
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Phoenix, AZ, and the Colorado River BasinSee Local StoryPartners:
- Arizona Historical Society
- Arizona State University
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Ringwood, NJSee Local StoryPartners:
- The Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lunaape Nation
- Rutgers University–New Brunswick Department of Landscape Architecture
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Springfield, MASee Local StoryPartners:
- Arise for Social Justice
- Neighbor to Neighbor
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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The BahamasSee Local Story
-
Twin Cities, MinnesotaSee Local StoryPartners:
- Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED)
- University of Minnesota
University of Illinois at Chicago From “Our Point of View”During our yearlong course, we learned that environmental injustice is more than pollution. It involves social issues like immigration, policing, and economic inequities that favor the corporate elite. Our class of social justice newcomers, advocates, and activists come from across Chicagoland, including areas near industrial corridors. These diverse perspectives allowed us to listen critically and make connections with our community partners as we discovered the culturally based approaches they use to resist environmental discrimination.
Alianza Americas From “Our Point of View”Few people will say they migrated due to climate change. But push a little harder and you hear many stories about drought, failed crops, devastating storms driving people to relocate to cities, where they encounter violence in many forms. Once living in the US, the deadly mix of environmental, economic and social injustices often repeats—via toxic exposure and gentrification. Alianza Americas works across borders on issues that affect immigrant communities. We joined this project to go deeper into the systemic environmental injustices faced by our members and the actions they take to fight back.