NAACP National Ccnference in Orlando

Quilt Maker Linda Lee Speaks on Panel at NAACP Convention in Orlando

         In mid-July, the NAACP held their national convention for the first time ever in Orlando, just a 30 minute drive away from the community in Apopka.  On Friday, July 12, a special session on the Framework for the Green Economy was held at the Florida A & M University Law School in downtown Orlando prior to the start of the convention.  

         The session began with a presentation on climate change and the disproportionate impacts felt by low-income communities of color.  This set the stage for the first panel, which included former Lake Apopka farmworker and key quilt maker, Linda Lee, as a panelist, addressing the issue of environmental injustice and a brief inside look at the EJ community in the backyard of the tourist attractions area of Central Florida – Lake Apopka and the surrounding communities.  Attendees expressed surprise and asked many questions, such that the 15 minute presentation continued for almost half an hour. 

       

 The Farmworker Association of Florida is very grateful to the NAACP for inviting us to present on the panel and looks forward to a continuing relationship with the organization as we both work to address environmental injustice of farmworkers and of communities of color in the U.S.