Inland Empire Bus Tour
Last month, the Liberty Hill Environment + Justice Donor Circle and NextGen Giving Circle gathered for a bus tour to explore the effects of warehouse expansion and diesel trucking on communities in the Inland Empire.
More than 40 participants, including circle members, friends, and Liberty Hill staff heard from activists and organizers who are leading the fight for clean air in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Throughout the tour, the group saw the extensive networks of rail lines, highways, and warehouses that make the Inland Empire the country’s largest logistics hub and home to the worst air pollution in the United States.
Liberty Hill’s Senior Director for Environmental Justice Angelo Logan shared context on the expansion of goods movement and his work with the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to inform federal policy.
Guest speakers also included Ana Gonzalez from the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), Andrea Viduarre of the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PC4EJ), and Sheheryar Kaoosji of Warehouse Workers Resource Center.
At a lunch stop in San Bernardino, steering committee member Julia Meltzer moderated a conversation with Cathy Gudis, history professor at UC Riverside, and filmmaker Ann Kaneko, that touched on the history of the Inland Empire and the importance of documentation for building community power.
The tour is the latest in a series of educational events the circle has organized to learn about environmental justice issues across our region. Last year, the giving circle co-designed a tour of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach along with a webinar on the Inland Empire. These educational events introduce donor activists to community organizers and inform the circle’s grantmaking.
