Environmental justice has a seat at the head table with new EPA Administrator Michael Regan. He is the first Black man and graduate of an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to run the EPA.

In our latest episode of Planet Forward, seen on PBS’s Peril and Promise and produced in association with ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory, an exclusive interview with Regan, who said he will bring science back to the EPA and into every decision — and made clear that environmental justice will be at the center of his mission.

Environmental racism is a personal issue for Tuskegee University student Jayden Graham-White, as well. She shares with us the issues that have defined the Turkey Creek Community in Gulfport, Mississippi, where she grew up. The history of the area dates back to freed slaves and is a devastating example of how racism, climate change, and environmental justice collide.