Join us to hear the passion and power of Alexie Torres-Fleming during this lecture and meet-and-greet! Issues of environment and race are intimately tied. Over the past four decades, there has been substantial literature/research proving how communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental pollution (water and air) and by climate change. Learn more about environmental and racial justice with a lecture by Alexie Torres-Fleming, writer, speaker, award-winner, and Executive Director of Access Strategies Fund, a Cambridge grant-making foundation that supports social justice nonprofits and promotes civic participation among women and communities of color.

Join us for a catalytic jumpstart to MIT climate and racial justice!!

Dinner will be served. Please RSVP by Monday, February 20.

Alexie grew up in the South Bronx during the late-1960s and 1970s where fires destroyed her borough. As an adult, Alexie moved to Manhattan, where she became active in grassroots organizations. Through faith and a desire to rebuild communities, she founded the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPJ), where she worked with youth to clean the brownfields of the borough and provide access to the Bronx River. She continues to spread these messages on a national scale. Alexie is a nationally-recognized activist and was recently name of "50 Visionaries Changing Our World."

About the Forum on Racial and Environmental Equity and Justice:

Are you drawn to better understand issues of the environment? Are you seeking to better understand systemic racism and oppression? The environment and racism are intimately tied together - consider the current water crises in Flint, Michigan and Standing Rock in North Dakota. Understanding the intersections of these issues is crucial to understand how to affect change.

We are proud to present the Forum on Racial and Environmental Equity and Justice, a compilation of key events at MIT focusing on environmental racism and justice. There are many organizations co-sponsoring these events, including Fossil Free MIT, Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA), Black Students' Union (BSU), the Environmental Policy and Planning Group (DUSP), Radius at MIT, the Latino Cultural Center (LCC), MIT's Philosophy Department and the Institute Community and Equity Officer (ICEO).