In this SouthTalk, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis will speak on the evolution of the environmental justice movement, which is often said to have started as a local grassroots movement in North Carolina in 1982. Today the environmental justice movement has grown into a global movement for environmental justice, equality, and equity.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Chavis is an esteemed civil rights leader, global business leader, faith leader, and public intellectual. He was born in Oxford, North Carolina. His family has been deeply rooted in Granville County, North Carolina, as landowners, farmers, educators, theologians, physicians, and activists for more than 250 years. Chavis is the host of The Chavis Chronicles, a television broadcast that airs weekly on PBS.

SouthTalks is a series of events, including lectures, performances, film screenings and panel discussions, that explores the interdisciplinary nature of Southern Studies. This series is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture.