The People’s Hearing – Audiencia Popular – Omni William Penn, Pittsburgh, PA

Click here for a Spanish Translation but you must register on this site:

Haga clic aquí para obtener una traducción al español, pero debe registrarse en este sitio:

Join us at the People’s Hearing in Pittsburgh, PA

Being held at the Omni William Penn in downtown Pittsburgh

The Speak Easy, Speak Free People’s Hearing is a two-day public expression of testimonies, solutions and cultural celebration. This event encourages communities to come forward to keep their aspirations alive, setting in motion what comes next even in the midst of the chaos, harm, and silence of the year 2025. Building on the success of the People’s Hearings in Greensboro, NC, and Tucson, AZ we are excited to be in community with you all in Pittsburgh, PA

Our communities have fought for the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and eat healthy food in the places we live, play, learn, work and pray together. In the past, we have found the heart to endure rough times because of the presence of each other in unison – knowing we are not alone. Yet, from the start of 2025, our right to come together collectively in public has been systematically attacked. We have been stripped of local and national platforms for expressing and investing in the challenges affecting our communities’ well-being and the solutions for ending harm and promoting quality of life.

The People’s Hearing in Pittsburgh, PA will:

• Convene representatives of communities from the state and surrounding regions to testify to the threats to their health, land and work.
• Create space for dialogue where community representatives and their partners will together lay the groundwork for policies and movements that will secure a cleaner, healthier, and economically and culturally vibrant future.
• Those invited include the community change-makers of Pennsylvania whose stories and solutions are ripe; leaders from across the country to bear witness and lift up the stories and solutions: and, all who are called to center the plight and promise of our communities in their work.

People’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council (PEJAC)

President Biden established the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) at the start of his term. The WHEJAC marked the first time that a Presidential advisory body was tasked with providing recommendations on environmental justice. The Council released a 92-page report advancing Justice40 commitments, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, and Executive Order 12898 through a robust set of recommendations. Through 2024, the Council provided important reports on key climate, energy, and environmental justice issues, such as carbon management and disaster relief, along with its sharing of critical input for federal agencies such as FEMA, DOE, DOT, USDA and others. Thousands of people from across the Nation and its Territories shared public comments with the WHEJAC to express their most pressing environmental problems and solutions, putting their experiences and knowledge on the public record.

In 2025, the Trump Administration shut down the Council. But in June 2025, the inaugural People’s Hearing was hosted in Greensboro North Carolina, creating a spark for a new public accounting of environmental justice that can inspire new coalitions, supercharge movements, and stoke policy change locally and nationally. At the hearing, a set of movement leaders who served on the WHEJAC acted as formal witnesses and vowed to write national recommendations in support of the testimonies they heard. Due to the former WHEJAC members’ role in the hearing process, attendees and organizers alike dubbed the witnesses as the People’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council, or PEJAC. Honoring the hard work of the organizers in North Carolina, the PEJAC has fully committed to working to continue to receive testimony from attendees during the nationwide People’s Hearings. In doing so, the PEJAC aims to keep the public record on what is happening to our communities and to elevate environmental justice solutions back onto the national stage.

LOCATION

The People’s Hearing will be held at the Omni William Penn, Pittsburgh, PA
UBICACIÓN: La Audiencia Popular se llevará a cabo en el Omni William Penn, Pittsburgh, PA

IMPORTANT DATES

November 7, 2025:     Book your lodging at the Omni William Penn at this link. Our group rate is $169/night excluding taxes. See below on how to apply for financial aid for travel and lodging. Lodging is only for Friday, November 21, 2025. There are a few rooms available for Thursday November 20, 2025 if needed.

November 15, 2025:     Deadline to register to attend and book your lodging.

Friday, November 21, 2025:     People’s Hearing Day 1:   1PM Start

Saturday, November 22, 2025:    People’s Hearing Day 2:   8AM start with breakfast; 12noon lunch; 3PM conclusion

FECHAS IMPORTANTES:

7 de noviembre 2025:  Reserva tu alojamiento en el Omni William Penn en este nlace.  Nuestra tarifa grupal es de $169/noche sin impuestos. Vea a continuación cómo solicitar ayuda financiera para viajes y alojamiento.

15 de noviembre de 2025: Fecha límite para registrarse para asistir y reservar su alojamiento

Viernes 21 de noviembre de 2025: Audiencia popular Día 1: inicio a la 1 p.m.

Sábado 22 de noviembre de 2025: Audiencia Popular Día 2:

Las 8 a.m. comienzan con el desayuno; almuerzo a las 12 del mediodía; Conclusión de las 3 p.m.