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PURE ENERGYVOLUME II SPRING 2015 COLLABORATIVE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ONE BLOCK AT A TIME PURECITIES.ORG 

Sustainable Communities - The Connection to Environmental Justice 

Atlanta, GA - May 6, 2015 - PURE’s

Founder, Djuan Coleon, spoke during the

Green Chamber of the South’s weekly

Green Wednesday   meeting. The Green

Chamber of the South’s core purpose is to

bring together businesses and organizations

across the

Southeast to

promote the

growth, innovation and success of sustainability. Stephanie

Stuckey Benfield, the new Director of the Office of Sustainability for

the City of Atlanta, was in attendance. Djuan spoke on subject of

“Building Sustainability” : A Beloved Community Model”  and the connection to Environmental

 Justice.  A Beloved Sustainable Community considers the dignity of all as we build, and is as much

of a technological exercise as it is a heart exercise. Technology must not just sustain civilization,

but also must not divide or harm communities. Studies have shown that your zip code, and not

genetics, will predict your life expectancy based on the disproportionate and systemic nature of

how hazardous and toxic waste plants are distributed in America. One in six Americans live near

a Super Fund site. Per www.epa.gov/superfund ,  a “Super Fund Site” is an uncontrolled, or

abandoned place where hazardous waste is located, possibly affecting local ecosystems or

people. There are more than 1700 Superfund sites in the US. To date, only 383 have been cleaned

of hazardous/toxic waste.

New York, NY, April 2015  - Djuan was one of six panelists discussing the impact of environmental

hazards on poor communities, especially communities of color.

Killing Us Softly: Environmental Threats to Our Futur

2015 National Action Network (NAN) Annual Conference

“..  Your zip code, andnot genetics, will predict Your lifeexpectancy …”  

— Djuan Coleon

Djuan Coleon, PURE and Stephanie Benfield,

City of Atlanta, Office of Sustainability  

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PURE ENERGY VOLUME II SPRING 2015 COLLABORATIVE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ONE BLOCK AT A TIME PURECITIES.ORG 

May 2016 - Atlanta, GA  - Project Karma, Lakewood Community

Church of Hope and PURE  partner to bring urban farming to the

Lakewood community of Atlanta via the “Garden of Hope and

Reflection” . The garden features organic kale, carrots, herbs, native

plants, squash and a Honey Bee Hive. PURE is pleased to be a part

of this urban garden project, as well as other smaller non-profits

that have the vision and the idea to be a part of improving their

communities. The partnership also aligns with PURE’s mission of

collaborating to build sustainable communities one block at a time.

PURE discovered our partner, Project Karma, was working with Lakewood Community Church

and Spelman; PURE collaborates with Spellman as well, and saw it was a good fit based on PURE’s

mantra of “collaboration to pull resources together and something we can replicate to build

sustainable communities across the country ” . 

Project Karma, a non-profit founded by Alexia Alexander Lane, works with kids “ at risk for gang

involvement to find creative ways to channel

 feelings, and emotions around people in their lives

who have died ” . Alexia says Garden of Hope and

Reflection is the direct result of how kids can positively

contribute to the community and actively work

through their grief.

Lakewood Community Church of Hope (LCH) was

founded by Pastor Gary R. Burke in 2013, who grew up

in Lakewood, one of the most dangerous communities

in Atlanta, and the eight dangerous in the country. He

was motivated to give back to the community he helped

ravish through greed and drugs after serving federal

prison time. Pastor Burke says “God is doing amazing

things at Lakewood”. Lakewood Church of Hope is aplace to care about a community through a “church

without walls”, and is actively trying to tear down “walls

of the ghetto”. Lakewood is a community where

gentrification has not happened. When General Motors

and Ford plants left the community, resources needed

 for a community to thrive were no longer there. Once

communities are ravished of resources, they start to

decline, and is what happened to Lakewood in the last

15 to 20 years. 

Pastor Gary says “Project Karma and Lakewood are partners with the

youth and community at large. Project Karma has been around a little

longer than LCH. Her community partners are now becoming his

 partners, which are good stepping stones”  , as is the case with building

 partnership with PURE. 

One of Pastor Gary’s professor from seminary, Pastor Peter Ray Jones, is

proud of what he sees happening at Lakewood and wants to be a part of

seeing more happen. Pastor Peter will be retiring from teaching seminary, but is not retiring from

the work at Lakewood.

Djuan Coleon with Alexia Lane, Founder of

Project Karma

Pastor Peter Ray Jones

Pastor Gary ’s

Seminary Professor  

“God is doing amazingthings with this little

community…. .The

greatest potential the

universe has is the

creation of human

potential, and we are

trying to enhance the

human potential here atLakewood” 

- Pastor Gary R. Burke

Lakewood Church of Hope

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PURE EVENTS VOLUME II SPRING 2015 COLLABORATIVE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ONE BLOCK AT A TIME PURECITIES.ORG 

April 2015, Atlanta, GA - Bernice J. deGannes

Scott, Ph.D. Associate Professor ofEconomics,  invited Djuan to speak to her

Spelman Economics class about the

“Interconnectivity between Climate Change,

Renewable Energy and Environmental

 Justice” .  His message focused on “smart

cities around

the world

finding

innovative

ways to

improve the

quality of life of

their citizens by using technology, analytics and efficiency of

operations, and Atlanta’s need to address their food desert  issue. The

USDA defines food deserts “ as areas that don’ t have ready access to

 fresh healthy food, specifically residents who live more than a mile

 from fresh produce.”   Atlanta has over half a million people who live

in a food desert and 20% of them live below the poverty line.   Djuan shared with the students his

recent interview with MARTA’s Manager of Retail Development, Denise Whitfield, MARTA’sproposed pilot to bring fresh produce from local community gardens to MARTA stations.

2015 National Action Network (NAN) Annual Convention

PURE ’ s Executive Director & Spelman Economics Class

Professor deGannes Scott

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 PURE EVENTSVOLUME II SPRING 2015 COLLABORATIVE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ONE BLOCK AT A TIME PURECITIES.ORG 

The Lakewood Community – Atlanta, GAThe Garden of Hope and Reflection

Project Karma, Lakewood

Community Church of

Hope and PURE partner tobring urban farming to the

Lakewood community.

The garden features

organic kale, carrots,

herbs, native plants,

squash and a Honey Bee

Hive.

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 PURE PARTNERSVOLUME II SPRING 2015 COLLABORATIVE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ONE BLOCK AT A TIME PURECITIES.ORG 

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