Interview with Dr. Mark Mitchell, founder of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) (Part 2)

The Toxic Avengers

08-11-2022 • 33 min

We're back!

For this episode, we have Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Mark Mitchell, founder of the Hartford Environmental Justice Network, later renamed the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, (CCEJ).

In Part 2 we discuss Dr. Mitchell’s unhappy tenure as the Health Director for the city of Hartford Connecticut, and the systemic and institutional racism that led to his founding of CCEJ.

We talk about CCEJ’s work against the disproportionate placement of power plants and incinerators in the Connecticut cities with majorities of people of color.

We also discuss the growing power and influence of CCEJ in Connecticut; and the transformational impact of the work for many of CCEJ’s members.

Hear more of Dr. Mitchell's story in Episode 9.

And here is an essay he wrote in 2020 for the journal Daedalus: “Racism as a Motivator for Environmental Justice”