California Environmental Justice Alliance Action (CEJA Action) builds the political power of communities of color to advance environmentally and socially just policies in California. We accomplish this by engaging voters in communities of color, organizing and training grassroots leaders to engage in civic and electoral politics, and advocacy to advance critical policies that will improve the health and quality of life in communities of color. We believe California’s communities of color are a powerful force for equitable environmental policies and a more participatory, inclusive democracy.
CEJA Action Electoral Engagement Program
CEJA Action has launched a new electoral program in 2016 to unite the emerging people of color electorate to advance progressive policy solutions and to shift our electorate to represent communities of color.
The Electoral Engagement Program will:
- Unite and build the power of communities of color voters: educate, organize, and mobilize voters of color to engage on environmental justice and social justice issues. CEJA Action will amplify the voices of those who have often been marginalized in policy-making and will ensure that communities of color are at the forefront in advancing environmental justice policies.
- Endorse candidates with our values: We need leaders that will stand up for environmental justice communities and policies, and not be beholden to big oil and industry interests. CEJA Action is the first people of color-centered organization to engage in statewide partisan work and we will release the first ever people of color statewide endorsement slate.
Environmental Justice: A Growing Force in California Politics
People of color are California’s majority, and represent a critical, growing voting block in California, particularly on environmental issues. As the climate crisis deepens and already existing environmental health and justice issues persist, people of color have emerged as strong supporters of aggressive environmental and climate change policies.
The changing statewide demographics have also diversified California’s legislature. Many more elected officials are people of color, often from districts highly impacted by pollution. These new legislators want to see an innovative generation of environmental policies that directly benefit and reflect the needs of their constituencies, which are communities of color throughout California.
These demographic shifts can translate into enormous power and policy shifts through intentional organizing and investments in diverse leadership. CEJA Action fills a critical void in this new landscape: mobilizing the untapped voter base among people of color, and building political support for elected officials that share our values.
CEJA Action already represents a powerful force, and we aim to expand our program and influence. We are the only statewide, people of color-led infrastructure with deep expertise on environmental issues and mobilizing voters on candidate races. We have spent decades working with the constituencies that now make up California’s majority. We have unique opportunities to engage working class communities of color in new and bigger ways to win historic climate and energy policies. In doing so, we can build political power for California’s diverse communities on a range of issues.
CEJA Action Members
SCOPE Action Fund
Latinxs for Environmental Justice
CRPE Action
CEJA Action covers key geographic and politically important areas throughout the state:
- Riverside and San Bernardino
- South and Southeast Los Angeles
- Wilmington
- San Fernando Valley
- San Joaquin Valley
- San Diego
- Oxnard and Ventura
- Oakland
- Richmond
- San Francisco