Rev. Robert Campbell will travel to the White House on Friday to discuss the water and air quality issues of the Rogers Road community, a historically black neighborhood in Chapel Hill, NC. Campbell will meet with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Chris Heaney, a UNC Kellogg Health Scholar based at HPDP, has helped Campbell collect well-water samples from the area and is currently helping Campbell prepare the briefing.
EPA officials became interested in Campbell after he submitted a grant application to the EPA and Rogers Road was discussed at the N.C. Environmental Justice summit in October.
Campbell said he hopes that his visit to the White House will secure a commitment for federal stimulus money to clean up the water and air quality issues in the Roger Road community as well as promote national conversations about environmental justice.