In this episode of Rooted Women: Earth and Eco-Justice, Diamondnia Mack sits down with environmental attorney Jasmine Jennings for a deeply grounded and timely conversation on environmental justice, law, and survival in an era of political rollback.

Jasmine traces her journey from North Carolina to environmental law, sharing how community, Black history, and lived experience shaped her understanding of environmental racism as one of the most insidious and enduring forms of injustice. Drawing on her work representing frontline communities—from Eastern North Carolina to Newark, New Jersey—she explains how pollution, zoning, and hazardous facilities continue to be intentionally concentrated in Black, Brown, and Indigenous neighborhoods.

The conversation turns urgently toward the realities of the second Trump administration: the dismantling of environmental protections, the erosion of federal enforcement, and what it means to “hold the line” when the legal and political landscape has fundamentally shifted. Jasmine offers an inside look at how environmental advocates are adapting their strategies, supporting communities, and preparing for a long fight ahead.

Beyond policy and litigation, this episode centers Black women—our mentorship, our authenticity, and our right to rest. Jasmine reflects on sustainability in justice work, rest as resistance, and why joy, community, and self-preservation are essential to surviving and continuing this work.

This episode is for anyone asking:

What does environmental justice really look like in practice?

How do race, history, and policy intersect in environmental harm?

How do we stay rooted, hopeful, and human while fighting systems that were never built for us?

A powerful reminder that this movement did not start with us—and it will not end with us—but we each have a role to play.

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📺 Watch the full interview at www.brownmoonproject.org/rootedpodcast

🔗 Check out Jasmine's full bio at www.brownmoonproject.org/expertcontributor