Flooded and Forgotten: The Fight for Housing and Environmental Justice in Centreville, IL

Flooded and Forgotten: The Fight for Housing and Environmental Justice in Centreville, IL

Thursday, March 18, 5pm CT  

Government failure to invest in and maintain basic infrastructure in low-income communities and Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color communities perpetuates the disproportionate exposure of these communities to environmental harms. In Centreville, Illinois, the poorest city in the state, Black community members are suffering from failing sewage infrastructure, inadequate flood prevention systems and potentially contaminated drinking water. Join to see an interview with leaders of a newly formed community group—Centreville Citizens for Change—who are fighting for housing and environmental justice with the support of Equity Legal Services, Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing & Opportunity Council, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Presented in collaboration with Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization, Collective Communities: Actions on Environmental Crises at Weinberg/Newton Gallery will run Feb. 3 through March 27, 2021. 

Through artwork and programming, Collective Communities presents the work of artist collaboratives, collectives, and cooperatives that are concerned primarily with ecologies in crisis. Presented virtually at weinbergnewtowngallery.com, as well through installations viewable from the gallery’s storefront windows at 688 N. Milwaukee Ave, Collective Communities will feature new work by Deep Time Chicago artist collective, Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and Karrabing Film Collective.

A related virtual programming series will introduce Earthjustice’s legal work centered in communities across the Midwest. The series will feature Earthjustice attorneys, public interest partners and community leaders in conversation about how tey are working together to fight for the health and safety of frontline communities. 

The programming series will be free and accessible to the public with registration, available at https://earthjustice.org/events/collective-communities-actions-on-environmental-crises.