Short Documentaries

Voices for Justice: It takes all of us

Note: This video is now in the final stages of editing. We are seeking funds to replicate it so that it may be distributed to schools, colleges, and community groups at no charge to these organizations.

Environmental hazards are prevalent in the United States, and they are concentrated in vulnerable neighborhoods, such as low income communities of color.  This concentration of hazards has been described as environmental injustice, and there has been increasing awareness in recent years that we have a collective responsibility to find solutions. 

Voices for Justice introduces the concept of environmental justice.  Situated in the context of hazardous waste disposal across the United States, the film chronicles the birth of the environmental justice movement in Warren County, North Carolina in 1982, and the successful efforts of Warren County residents to encourage government to clean up the site twenty years later.

In order to resolve environmental issues, a diverse group of community and professionals stakeholders must work together.  The roles and challenges of various stakeholders are introduced, and leaders in community organizing, academia, government, and the private sector share their vision for the future of the environmental justice movement.

This video may be used to introduce key concepts of environmental justice in classroom, as well as community and professional settings.  Topics introduced in this video may be further explored in more depth in subsequent videos targeted to the needs of particular stakeholders.

Voices for Justice is intended to provide an introduction to issues that may be explored in greater detail through facilitated dialogue, using other materials available through the Exchange Project website.