Nearly 200 participants convened in Orlando for “New Directions in Environmental Justice,” the inaugural Environmental Law and Justice Symposium hosted jointly by the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law and the FAMU Center for Environmental Equity and Justice, a division of the Environmental Sciences Institute.The event offered an overview of the latest international, national, regional, state and local developments in environmental justice, and attracted attendees throughout the state of Florida. It included panel discussions on National and International Developments in Environmental Justice, Toxic Dumping and Brownfields, and Impacts to Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife. Each discussion panel featured renowned experts on environmental justice issues representing government, academia, public and private sectors.
“Environmental Justice is a topic of particular interest to the FAMU College of Law as we seek to continually provide assistance to diverse populations, many of whom who are impacted by environmental issues discussed during the symposium,” said College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell.
One highlight of the symposium included a display of the Lake Apopka Farmworker Memorial Quilts, constructed as a tribute to the lives of now deceased farmworkers who worked the muck farms on Lake Apopka in Central Florida. The symposium was sponsored by the law firm of Akerman Senterfitt LLP, the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, articles were solicited for the first environmental symposium issue of the FAMU Law Review.
“Law professors and attorneys throughout the nation have committed to submit articles for this special issue, which will ensure a timely and resounding impact on the scholarly literature on environmental law and justice issues in 2011,” FAMU associate law professor Randall Abate said.