This summer, grassroots and Indigenous environmental leaders from throughout Lenapehoking will hold three public events for connection, celebration, knowledge-sharing, and healing: a Summer Solstice, a Juneteenth Celebration, and a panel on community land protection and stewardship. These Land Circle Activation events will take place in a pop-up hub space supported by the Climate Justice Initiative (CJI). at Cesar Andreú Iglesias Community Garden in Kensington, Philadelphia, a multi-generational community of growers and neighborhood organizing project.
CJI is a major project from the Environmental Justice Department at Mural Arts Philadelphia, foregrounding climate justice in land, air, and trash practices. The multi-year initiative highlights local environmental and climate justice movements, engaging communities through public art, gatherings, teach-ins, networking, and visioning — acting on the urgency of the climate crisis and its disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities. Through models of horizontality, autonomy, and collectivism, CJI supports the vision and needs of community leaders and artists as collaborators and co-conspirators.
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Land Circle Activation
Hosted by Cesar Andreú Iglesias Community Garden (425 Arlington St., Philadelphia, PA 19122) with the Climate Justice Initiative.
- Holding Ground in Philadelphia & Lenapehoking
Friday, June 10, 6–8pm (Rain Date: Saturday, June 11, 4–6pm) | Open to the public, registration required | Contact: [email protected]Learn about the benefits of community agriculture and Indigenous stewardship in Lenapehoking. Hear from panelists providing spaces for community members to own and reconnect with the land, tending it for food, healing, and justice in and around the city. The four speakers have generated ownership through various strategies from land swaps and land back to land banks. These spaces provide a more just future amongst a rapidly changing landscape and act as cultural hubs for local residents. This event will be moderated by Kermit O, Land/Food/Environmental Justice Organizer. The panelists are Chief Mann (Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm), Cesali Morales (Norris Square Park Neighborhood Project), Boogie Rose (Community Healing Garden), and Anthony Patrick (Cesar Andreú Iglesias Community Garden). The organizers and artists are part of Climate Justice Initiative’s Strategy Circle: Shari Hersh, Jonathan Leibovic, Gamar Markarian, Adriana Moran Garcia, and Dakota Plourde
- Juneteenth Celebration by Natives in Philly
Sunday, June 19 (Rain Date: Sunday, July 3) | Limited invitation | Contact: [email protected]Holding community space to celebrate Black and Indigenous people to envision collective futures, for folks to share crafts and culture, and to share food important to Lenape peoples. As Black and Native peoples coming from Indigenous and land-based communities, the ability to gather and share knowledge of the land and land use in the city is integral to the ability to protect and preserve it. The organizers and artists behind this event are Felicia Teter, Kitty Heite, and Priscilla Bell.
- Summer Solstice by Iglesias Garden
Saturday, June 25, 12–8pm (Rain Date: Sunday, June 26, 12–8pm) | Limited invitation | Contact: [email protected]A space for folks to reconnect with the Earth and provide an opportunity for healing. We invite communities to visit with our fruit trees, medicinal herbs, Aztec sculptures, cornfield, art, and open space amidst music, dance, and food. The organizers and artists behind this event are Anthony Patrick, Lauren Troop, and Cesar Viveros.
For more information, visit climatejusticeinitiative.com.
A project of the Environmental Justice Department, Mural Arts Philadelphia
Funders: PTS Foundation, The JPB Foundation
Source: Hyperallergic.com