Working with community partners, the Environmental Justice Clinic and Human Rights Clinic and Program at Miami Law are collaborating with the Black Audit Project, a multi-city initiative across the U.S. assessing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals for Black residents.
To support this effort, the clinics held a series of town halls this semester to collaborate with Miami-Dade County residents.
For the first series of town halls, supported by community partners, the team engaged in discussions that captured the voice of Black communities in Miami-Dade County and their enhanced exposure to multiple food insecurity risks.
The town halls “reinforced the need to learn from the residents who are community experts in addressing the food justice elements of availability, affordability, adequacy, and physical and economic accessibility,” said Precious Makuyana, Mysun Foundation Fellow for the EJC.
For the final town hall, the clinics, in collaboration with community partners, UM Race and Social Justice Law Review, Miami Law Human Rights Society, Freedom Lab Miami, Black Audit Project, UM Center for Global Black Studies, and Miami Law Office of Intellectual Life, hosted a Town Hall on the Sustainable Development Goals and Racial Justice at the Freedom Lab in Miami-Dade County.
The town hall brought together organizers, activists, academics, community residents, and a representative of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
Participants engaged in roundtable discussions on food justice, housing, climate justice, gender-based violence, and maternal and reproductive health. Through art and storytelling, participants explored multi-faceted issues and transformative solutions.
The clinics team will present their findings from the town halls, as well as interviews and research to the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent in April 2024.
“This project connects local and global advocacy with the goal of advancing racial justice across key areas in Miami-Dade County,” said Human Rights Clinic Acting Director Tamar Ezer. “For each of the issues, it points to gaps in government policy, as well as highlights innovative community initiatives.”
Read more about Miami Law’s clinics.
