Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

(Washington, DC) www.lawyerscomm.org	Total Award: $60,000 over 1 year
Environmental Justice Project	Program Contribution Environment Program, $50,000 Interprogram Initiatives for Social and Economic Justice, $10,000

To support the Environmental Justice Project which will continue to work with African-American and Latino communities in Gainesville, Georgia to build coalitions in pursuing a federal class-action lawsuit to challenge discriminatory land-use policies of the city and housing and zoning commissions. The Lawyers’ Committee has a 40-year history of mobilizing the volunteer resources of the private bar to protect and defend the civil rights of the poorest Americans. The lawsuit, which will be filed by the Newtown Florist Club, Concerned Citizens of Black, Cooley, and Jordon Drives, and several local residents, will address the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards on poor and minority communities in Gainesville. Through this lawsuit and community outreach, the Lawyers’ Committee will continue to 1) hold public institutions accountable for degradation of the environment and public health; 2) focus on systemic reform; and 3) establish a model for replication by other communities confronting similar environmental harms and economic neglect.

This grant also satisfies:

Environment Program: Objective II, Strategy 1
Interprogram Initiatives for Social and Economic Justice: Objectives I & II