Environmental Justice, Equity & Sustainability: Earth Day Imperatives

Date and Time

As a leader in agricultural innovation and environmental science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will celebrate Earth Day with a national, virtual panel discussion focusing on environmental issues.

North Carolina A&T and its College of Agriculture and Environmental Science will present “Environmental Justice, Equity & Sustainability: Earth Day Imperatives,” on April 22, noon to 1:30 p.m., via Zoom webinar. The webinar is free and open to all.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Tracy Lloyd McCurty ’99, executive director of the Black Belt Justice Center, a legal and advocacy nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting African American farmers, landowners and communities in the Black Belt region.

McCurty was a leading advocate for the historic inclusion of black farmers to receive $5 billion in the recently passed 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and has been prominent in national coverage of the ARP over the past few weeks.

The panel will bring together agriculture and environmental experts representing a range of views and perspectives:

  • Dean Walter Hill, Ph.D., of the Tuskegee University College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences and a member of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hall of Fame;
  • Deidra Hodges, Ph.D., an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Texas-El Paso and an expert in solar energy;
  • Arnab Bhowmik, Ph.D., an assistant professor at N.C. A&T and an expert in soil science and soil microbiology and;
  • Kay Brandon, chair of the Greensboro City Council Solid Waste Management Commission and an expert on the city’s controversial White Street Landfill; and
  • Michael Carter, Jr. ‘00, an 11th-generation farmer and 5th-generation farmer at Carter Family Farms in Unionville, Va.

As a historically black university and land-grant institution and the alma mater of the nation’s top environmental official, U.S. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, N.C. A&T has a historical and continued interest in creating and promoting sustainable practices and advocating for environmental equity and justice. It is especially attuned to environmental and agricultural issues that disproportionately and negatively affect communities of color.

Click this link to join A&T and its guest panelists on Earth Day, April 22, at noon for this imperative conversation.