CleanAirNow Executive Directors would like to express their gratitude to all the individuals who joined us on April 13 2023 for the Justice40rward Tour in Kansas City. This event would not have been a success without your participation and a special thanks to community members, speakers and panelists. The Justice40 Initiative mandates that at least 40% of the benefits of certain federal programs must flow to disadvantaged communities. 

 Kansas City’s CleanAirNow environmental justice organization was selected as a pilot city to showcase their work to deepen relationships with elected officials and move to codify environmental justice bills into law. The work and lessons learned will create a model and process to inform the development and creation of accountability review boards nationally. This program creates accountability to maximize federal funding allocations, educate local and state decision makers about the Justice40 Initiative and advance meaningful projects.

“The environmental justice movement is shaping community-led solutions and policies: our communities cannot continue to be sacrifice zones. Justice40 is an opportunity to invest in disadvantaged communities; however, the most impacted communities need to oversee and guide the implementation to ensure transparency and accountability,” “This looks like a just transition to zero-emission energy sources, affordable and sustainable housing, training, and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of clean water and wastewater infrastructure that center solutions for overburdened communities.”

We are thrilled to share this information with you and look forward to advancing  environmental justice for all the neighborhoods where CleanAirNow started.  

Once again, thank you. 

Sincerely,
Atenas Mena.
Beto Lugo Martinez.