On July 17th, Next City will be screening "Razing Liberty Square," a feature-length documentary focused on Miami, ground zero for sea level rise. So the rich must move inland from the low-lying beaches, but where will they go? When residents of Miami’s infamous Liberty Square public housing project learn about a $300-million-dollar revitalization project, they brace themselves against gentrification. What they don't know is that their neighborhood is located on the highest and driest ground in Miami. But a young, local climate activist is prepared to fight this new form of racial injustice: climate gentrification.

Razing Liberty Square Q & A with Community organizer, Leader and Protagonist Valencia Gunder and Next City's Senior Economic Justice Correspondent, Oscar Perry Abello

Community organizer, Leader and Protagonist: Valencia Gunder, a multi-generational resident of Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, is co-director of The Smile Trust, executive director of The Black Collective and The Freedom Lab, and founder of the Community Emergency Operations Center -- all of which reach across the US South and the Caribbean from their headquarters in Liberty City. 

For the past 15 years, Valencia has provided coordination and support for diverse, low-wealth communities addressing climate change impacts. Together with the teams she leads, she has conducted 500,000 wellness checks and moved $7,000,000 in supplies to people in need across the US South and the Caribbean.

Known widely across the climate, environmental, and racial justice movements, Valencia has launched path-breaking climate and environmental justice initiatives including the Black Hive (which is the Movement for Black Lives’ climate and environmental justice program) and the Black Climate Manifesto (an organizing platform introduced at COP26 in Cairo and signed by CBO leaders worldwide). Her Arctic Blast Report enabled CBOs in 5 states to advocate for their communities. Her just completed Noir Project surveyed 10K black Miami-Dade residents to learn from community members their understanding of issues they face and their vision for their future in Miami-Dade.

Valencia’s disaster preparedness programs have been recreated by request in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd’s death and have been replicated with her help in more than 12 extreme weather events across the US South and the Caribbean. She has scaled these programs to 4 countries and 8 U.S. States.

Moderator: Oscar covers policies, programs and businesses that seek to address historical disparities in access to jobs, capital and space for economic use in cities. Oscar is the author of “The Banks We Deserve: Reclaiming Community Banking for a Just Economy.” Since 2011, he has covered community development finance, impact investing, economic development, housing and more for media outlets such as Shelterforce, Impact Alpha, Yes! Magazine, City & State New York, The Philadelphia Inquirer, B Magazine and Fast Company.