This commentary is adapted from Kresge President & CEO Rip Rapson’s remarks at the opening night reception of the 2026 Climate Change, Health and Equity Convening in Memphis, Tenn. earlier this week. Kresge’s Environment, Health and American Cities Programs brought together more than 120 people at the convening. 

I want to start tonight not with climate data or policy frameworks, but with where we are. Memphis.This is a city that understands something about reclaiming a moment.

Memphis, a city rich with history, knows what it means to fight for justice in the face of enormous odds. And it knows that culture is not decoration. Culture is power. It is how communities remember who they are, and how they insist on who they intend to become.

So there is no better place for this conversation. And no better collection of people and organizations to have it – those of you who are moving toward equity and justice by working at the intersection of climate, health, and equity. The place and the people underscore that the title of this convening Reclaiming the Moment — is not a slogan. It’s a mandate.

You don’t need me to tell you just how perilous these times are in our nation.

Those very institutions, policies, and people leading the fight for equitable climate action in our communities find themselves in a powerful vortex of vilification and assault.  In its repudiation of science, it constructs narratives and norms that are at once false and shameless . . . In its attempts to deconstruct the progress this movement has made over the last decade, it loads an unbearable weight of harm on generations to come . . .  In its refusal to acknowledge the interconnections among climate, public health, and equity, it overloads the circuits of local communities that understand that these issues are deeply interconnected.

We can hope that this is temporary – but it may not be . . . We can hope that the struggle may make us stronger – but that is not assured . . . We can hope that the depth of the harms being inflicted on the movement to climate justice may be reversible – but time is not on our side as every passing day makes the crisis more profound and more intractable.

Indeed, as I look out at this room, I see people and organizations being asked to carry on with fewer resources . . .  to construct pathways of aspiration in the face of policies designed to create fear and cynicism . . . to work in common purpose despite the ascendency of a political ideology that trivializes the very idea of common purpose.

All of this is overwhelming. Forgive me.

But we gather over these next days to reaffirm and fortify an antidote to this vile brew. Because what we represent in this room – and in countless communities outside of it – is a collective act of courage and resilience. We are animated by the knowledge that the most powerful resource we can draw on is people well-organized where they live.

And that resource is the foundation of how we defend and protect our work. And it is also how we build the future we want and all Americans deserve.

The good news is that we defend and protect in concert with others. You know them.  They are the organizers in Southwest Detroit conducting “know your rights” trainings to combat the overreach of ICE. They are the block club leaders in Charlotte protecting kids walking to school. They are the heroic Minneapolis neighborhood residents blowing whistles, filming abuses, and reclaiming community businesses.

These are our civic firefighters. And so are you.

Because you have refused to stand down as things have turned in an impossibly difficult direction. You may not have the EPA or the Energy Department or the Infrastructure Bill as a partner. But you are unrelenting in fashioning responses to extreme heat, urban flooding, toxic exposures, and so many other health and environmental challenges that fall with unforgiving and disproportionate burden on the backs of people with low incomes, people of color, and communities that have been systematically marginalized.

But we also need builders. We are blessed that you understand the duality of your call. Because you are builders even as you are firefighters.

Building is straightforward in concept, but numbingly difficult in practice.

It requires people and organizations who sight against a horizon line defined by an abiding optimism that we can create and sustain a future of prosperity . . .  equity . . . opportunity . . . justice.

• A future in which genuine democracy, not authoritarianism, defines the values and norms through which we approach challenges . . .
• A future in which affordable housing, safe and healthy neighborhoods, thriving small businesses, and vibrant arts and culture define the ebbs of flows in every neighborhood of this country, not just in those of traditional privilege . . .
• A future in which we understand that both the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change is not a “green new scam,” but an abiding social justice and civil rights imperative . . . an economic justice imperative . . . a public health imperative . . . a moral imperative . . .
• A future in which the stories we tell identify with candor and clarity who is affected by climate change . . . how community voice must be heard . . . what solutions are rooted in community experience, wisdom, and values . .
• A future in which we have constructed durable cross-sector partnerships, community-led policy platforms, and cultural narratives that elevate human dignity, individual possibility, and bonds of mutual assistance and support.

And a future in which you have partners who have your back . . . who support you not just when it’s easy . . . who are both responsive to the moment and adaptive to long-term needs and opportunities.

You will make your own judgment about whether Kresge fits that bill. But I am here tonight to tell you without equivocation that that is exactly what we seek to be. We will not turn our backs or walk away just because things are difficult. Indeed, the very qualities that make a private philanthropy like ours justifiable are those qualities demanded now.

We will take the long view, seeking to join with you as you build an equitable and just alternative to the cruel and dystopian future the current administration seeks.

We will continue to take risks, investing our time, money, and talent in approaches that seek to serve as a counterweight to the current disinvestment in practices that promise to interbraid climate, health, and equity.

We will use our full toolbox, calling on grants to be sure, but also ensuring that you and others have the technical assistance, thought partners, and opportunities for practice networks the times demand.

And we will triple down on our commitment to equity – we’re not in the business of scraping DEI from our website or withdrawing our support for racial justice organizations or backing down from challenging practices and behaviors that violate our fundamental values of respect, creativity, partnership, opportunity, and equity.

Our Environment and Health teams have collaborated on investments at the intersection of climate change, health, and equity since 2011.

That is more than a decade of learning, of partnership, of building proof points that demonstrate we can strengthen the health of communities through practices and policies that are people-centered, data-driven, and grounded in racial equity.

But let me be crystal clear: it is you, not Kresge, who carry this work.

You show what is possible through the deep, patient, place-based, culture-rooted, equity-driven work you do every day . . .

You have shifted local and regional policy in meaningful, measurable ways . . .

You shape your communities in ways that uplift joy and care . . .

You are the future.

So lean into one another. Share what you’re learning. Name what’s hard. Celebrate what’s working. And leave here with a renewed sense that this extraordinary community of firefighters and builders is exactly what this moment demands.