SEVENTH PRINCIPLE PROJECT ENDORSES
JUSTICE FOR JANITORS CAMPAIGN

The Seventh Principle Project has endorsed the recent statement by the Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, in support of the Janitors for Justice campaign in the greater Boston area. Rev. Sinkford's statement, which calls for support of the striking janitors in their efforts to obtain economic justice for their work in maintaining and cleaning commercial buildings in the Boston area, explicitly affirms the broad reach of Unitarian Universalism's Seventh Principle by relating the concept of justice to the interdependent web of all existence.

Environmental justice incorporates many of the aspects of social justice we are called to honor in our traditional UU activism: racial justice, economic justice, justice across the generations. Environmental justice acknowledges that poor people and people of colorthroughout North America and around the globe have a far greater likelihood of being exposed to environmental contaminants associated with health and safety risks.

The environmental justice movement was born in 1982 when an attempt was made by a hazardous waste firm (with the approval of the U.S. EPA) to locate a large hazardous waste landfill in Warren County, North Carolina. Warren County was the poorest county in the state and 65 percent African-American. Residents of the county along with representatives from the Untied Church of Christ, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Congressional Black Caucus protested the siting decision. The protest resulted in more than 5,000 arrests and the birth of the environmental justice movement we see today.

A considerable amount of evidence suggests that cultural, racial, and ethnic minorities and the poor are disproportionately exposed to health and safety risks from environmental pollution. Farm workers, many of whom are non-white, are exposed to pesticides. Hispanic and African-American populations are more likely to live in close proximity to hazardous waste sites or polluting industry. The poor are more likely to have a hazardous waste site in their neighborhood then are those who can afford to live in "better" neighborhoods. They are also less likely to be able to access the medical care, sanitation, and other technologies that make it possible to avoid or mitigate the effects of their exposure.

The environmental justice movement has grown considerably over the last two decades. Today, most major religious denominations support social action for environmental justice. People of faith are beginning to recognize that justice for the interdependent web must also extend beyond humans to all species of life on the earth.

Religious groups work with environmental organizations, academic groups, and legal services in the demand for environmental equity. The list of environmental justice advocacy groups is long. Clark Atlanta University's Environmental Justice Resource Center, Harvard University's Working Group on Environmental Justice, the Environmental Law Institute, Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles, and the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice are just a few of the lengthy list of groups working on these issues. Unitarian Universalists should join with these activists to speak out in public witness for environmental justice.

The mission of the Seventh Principle Project is to facilitate and support the work of Unitarian Universalists (UUs), by affirming and promoting the seven principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including the seventh, "respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." We do this by focusing on the theological, spiritual, and ethical aspects of human values and activities that affect the health and sustainability of the living earth. For more information about the Seventh Principle Project:

Seventh Principle Project
http://www.uuaspp.org
P.O. Box 1523
Arlington, VA 22210-9998
703-920-3615

-- Katherine Jesch, Director of Environmental Ministry
kathjesch@earthlink.net

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