Nika Lofton

Nika Lofton has always been a curious person and a vocal justice advocate. Nika was born and raised in middle Georgia, a few miles from a paper mill that gave Macon its terrible air quality and distinct sulfurous odor. Growing up in a Black, immigrant, and low-income household, Nika experienced firsthand the damage of structural injustice, isolation, and environmental degradation. Their background fostered a passion for history and politics, which they further explored studying political sociology at the University of Chicago. Here they began to use their understanding and context of their experience to organize students around environmental justice. They became an active lead organizer working on political education, lobbying for the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, and building a base on their campus to fight for just climate legislation. It was through this community organizing that they learned the power of not just knowing why things are the way they are, but using that knowledge to build a movement with people who are committed to making meaningful differences. Nika wants to continue to challenge the status quo of America’s disconnect between politics and everyday people by bringing people to the table to understand, draft, and enact equitable policy that puts people and the planet first