About Moving Forward Network

The Moving Forward Network is a national network of over 50 member organizations that centers grassroots, frontline-community knowledge, expertise and engagement from communities across the US that bear the negative impacts of the global freight transportation system. MFN builds partnerships between these community leaders, academia, labor, big green organizations and others to protect communities from the impacts of freight. Its diverse membership facilitates an integrated and geographically dispersed advocacy strategy that incorporates organizing, communications, research, legal and technical assistance, leadership development and movement building. This strategy respects multiple forms of expertise and builds collective power.

Vision

In the pursuit of environmental justice, MFN envisions communities across the globe that are healthy, sustainable, equitable, and just. Communities include all aspects of our environment, including neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and places of worship.

Mission

To build power with communities to transform the global freight transportation system and advance environmental justice.

Activities

Local power building by facilitating information sharing; coordinating communications strategies; sharing advocacy tools; leading research; hosting peer to peer trainings, and local, regional & national workshops; and convening movement building activities. MFN also supports and coordinates national policy campaigns for MFN and its allies.

Theory of Change

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) from working class and low-income communities, disproportionately suffer from the adverse public health, environmental, and climate impacts of the global freight transportation system. These frontline and fenceline communities often lack access to the essential resources and national infrastructure needed to influence the powerful freight interests and public policies that continue to compromise their environment, health, and well-being.

FOCUS OF CHANGE

A network of frontline and fenceline community leaders, environmental organizations, labor, academia, and other community power building stakeholders.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES
• We have a diverse membership with grassroots, frontline and fenceline community knowledge.
• We develop strong partnerships with community leaders, academia, labor, and environment organizations.
• We harness our collective expertise in organizing, communications, research, legal and technical assistance, leadership development, and movement building.
• We facilitate information sharing among members.
• We author, design, and share advocacy tools and resources.
• We coordinate communications strategies.
• We advocate for policies that uplift frontline and fenceline communities and promote systemic change in the freight transportation system.
• We facilitate and coordinate grassroots led national policy campaigns for MFN.

ANTICIPATED CHANGES

• There will be a notable increase in community engagement and knowledge about the negative impacts of the global freight transportation system.

• Our strengthened partnerships and networks will be more empowered to transform the global freight transportation system.

• There will be enhanced advocacy strategies and tools grounded in in-depth research and data utilization.

• We will have built a library of recorded comprehensive trainings and workshops that focus on how communities can increase their strategy and capacity to advocate for environmental justice locally.

• There will be a critical mass of intergenerational frontline and fenceline community leaders who are using their collective knowledge and power towards environmental justice.
• We will have advanced freight transportation policies and practices that are grounded in environmental justice.
• There will be a growing awareness of the global translocal landscape of frontline and fenceline communities working across the freight transportation system.
VALUES & GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
1. Be Inclusive
Our movement must embody diversity at all levels, requiring thorough planning, hard work, and conflict resolution to develop alternative policies and institutions against neoliberalism.
2. Emphasis on Bottom-Up Organizing
We must continually build and strengthen our base to ensure credibility, strategic effectiveness, mobilization, leadership development, and sustained energy for our daily work.
3. Let People Speak for Themselves
We must ensure that voices of those directly affected are heard by providing ways for spokespersons to represent them responsibly, clarifying organizational roles and representation, and assuring accountability within our structures.
4. Work Together In Solidarity and Mutuality
Groups working on similar issues should act in solidarity and support each other, emphasizing the importance of communication, strategy, and resource sharing for stronger relationships and broader impact.
5. Build Just Relationships Among Ourselves
We need to treat each other with justice and respect at both individual and organizational levels, developing just relationships through clear decision-making, shared strategies, resource distribution, and coordinated accountability across diverse skills.
6. Commitment to Self-Transformation
As we change societies, we must shift from individualism to community-centeredness, embodying the values of justice, peace, and community we advocate for. We must “walk our talk.”

Environmental Justice (EJ) Principles

17 ENVIROMENTAL JUSTICE PRINCIPLES
1) Environmental Justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from ecological destruction. 

2) Environmental Justice demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination or bias. 

3) Environmental Justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things.

4) Environmental Justice calls for universal protection from nuclear testing, extraction, production and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes and poisons and nuclear testing that threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water, and food. 

5) Environmental Justice affirms the fundamental right to political, economic, cultural and environmental self determination of all peoples. 

6) Environmental Justice demands the cessation of the production of all toxins, hazardous wastes, and radioactive materials, and that all past and current producers be held strictly accountable to the people for detoxification and the containment at the point of production. 

7) Environmental Justice demands the right to participate as equal partners at every level of decision making, including needs assessment, planning, implementation, enforcement and evaluation. 

8) Environmental Justice affirms the right of all workers to a safe and healthy work environment without being forced to choose between an unsafe livelihood and unemployment. It also affirms the right of those who work at home to be free from environmental hazards. 

9) Environmental Justice protects the right of victims of environmental injustice to receive full compensation and reparations for damages as well as quality health care.

10) Environmental Justice considers governmental acts of environmental injustice a violation of international law, the Universal Declaration On Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on Genocide. 

11) Environmental Justice must recognize a special legal and natural relationship of Native Peoples to the U.S. government through treaties, agreements, compacts, and covenants affirming sovereignty and self-determination. 

12) Environmental Justice affirms the need for urban and rural ecological policies to clean up and rebuild our cities and rural areas in balance with nature, honoring the cultural integrity of all our communities, and provided fair access for all to the full range of resources. 

13) Environmental Justice calls for the strict enforcement of principles of informed consent, and a halt to the testing of experimental reproductive and medical procedures and vaccinations on people of color. 

14) Environmental Justice opposes the destructive operations of multi-national corporations. 

15) Environmental Justice opposes military occupation, repression and exploitation of lands, peoples and cultures, and other life forms. 

16) Environmental Justice calls for the education of present and future generations which emphasizes social and environmental issues, based on our experience and an appreciation of our diverse cultural perspectives.

17) Environmental Justice requires that we, as individuals, make personal and consumer choices to consume as little of Mother Earth’s resources and to produce as little waste as possible; and make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to ensure the health of the natural world for present and future generations.

MFN Governance Roles

FY 24–25 (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025)

FISCAL SPONSOR

Incubates and hosts MFN by serving as the operational backbone, managing subgrants and contracts, benefits and payroll, accounting and finance, digital security, information technology, and all the other functions. The fiscal sponsor’s Board of Directors has legal oversight and fiduciary responsibility while delegating strategic and programmatic decisions to the Advisory Board and senior staff.

MFN STAFF

Senior staff decide internally how to run the organizational day to day operations, finances, and programs based on input from all staff, the MFN Workgroups, the Grassroots Advisory Council, and the Project Advisory Board. Communication about major updates will be via email, newsletters, and Grassroots Advisory Council meetings.

PROJECT ADVISORY BOARD

 (4-6 Members)

Provides oversight of project’s activities, strategy, hiring, and planning. Acts solely in an advisory capacity; does not hold any fiduciary or legal authority. Meets monthly. 

[Needs a review, update, or extension for FY 25-26.]

MFN WORKGROUPS

(2-3 Sets)

The workgroups are grounded in the MFN principles and were formed because of the stated interest and leadership from members. The Tech Team Workgroup acts as the first step and stage to develop policy and discuss national priorities and opportunities that support MFN grassroots engagement. The ZEF (Zero Emissions in Freight) Workgroup acts as a central space to strengthen community, share insights about policy and request research. 

[Needs a review, update, or extension for FY 25-26.]

GRASSROOTS ADVISORY COUNCIL

(1-2 Reps, Region)

Elected regional representatives from multiple groups organize as a region, receiving funds to support regional collaboration & MFN participation. They make decisions on behalf of their region and share back information. They meet quarterly in March, June, September, December. [Needs a review, update, or extension for FY 25-26.]

NETWORK MEMBERS

(50+ Organizations)

Types of membership include Community based, Ally/Resource, and General. All members provide input and get information through the Grassroots Advisory Board, Workgroups, convening/gatherings, email & newsletters, and direct communication with staff. 

[Needs a review, update, or extension for FY 25-26.]

For general inquiries to the Moving Forward Network, please email info@movingforwardnetwork.com.