WHO WE ARE
WHO WE ARE
“People in the neighborhoods that are affected by Rubbertown are also affected by so many other social injustices it’s overwhelming.”
–Eboni Cochran
Air Justice is a project of the Environmental Health Literacy Coalition, a local group of community leaders, grassroots activists, and researchers who want to make the science of air pollution in Louisville easier to understand.
The reason it’s easy to ignore air pollution is because toxins are mostly invisible and scientific and legal jargon make it difficult to fight against this issue. That’s how Air Justice started–with Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey and members of Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT) frustrated with the difficult-to-read public notices circulating about air pollution. Residents should not have to sift through jargon to advocate for themselves.
Since these foundational ideas, Air Justice has evolved to work with scholars, students, and local communities to research solutions that bring legislative change and decrease toxic emissions. We don’t have all the answers yet, but we believe good things come when communities band together.
In 1996, a group of economic and environmental justice activists met with European-American representatives in Jemez, New Mexico to establish principles for democratic organizing agreed upon by peoples from different politics, cultures, and organizations. In our Air Justice work, we aim to uphold these same principles.
