Monica Miles receives Medgar Evers Civil Rights Award

By Elizabeth Egan

The award honors an outstanding individual who is championing and speaking of the rights of the underclass or making the public aware either through the written or electronic press. Miles is the first UB faculty member to receive the award.

Leah Halton-Pope, Ellicot District council woman,  presented Miles with the award. In her presentation, Halton-Pope noted that Miles has dedicated her career to advancing racial and educational equity, from the classroom to national research institutions.

Halton-Pope added that as co-founder of Mother Earth Literacies, Miles has brought culturally relevant, justice-centered environmental education to the forefront and that her work uplifts communities, empowers young people and challenges systems that perpetuate inequities. She concluded by crediting Miles with embodying the spirit of civil rights through actions, scholarship and unwavering commitment to justice and referring to her work as, “A beacon for us all.”

Miles is involved in a number of sustainability projects within the Buffalo community, including supporting the Delavan-Grider Community Center, analyzing space needs at the King Urban Life Center, partnering with Feed Buffalo, the region’s only halal food pantry, to supply food to Muslim students during Ramadan, and partnering with Erie County on a high quality heat wave study that will inform the Climate Action Plan.

In her role as co-founder and president of Mother Earth Literacies, Miles works with education, business, and nonprofit organizations to address sustainability and capacity challenges, as well as learning and equity needs, to enhance the quality of life in Western New York.

“People don’t always connect civil rights with STEM, but science, engineering, and medicine are shaped by politics and access—especially now,” said Miles. “Receiving the Medgar Evers Award here, in our own community, affirms that the work we do with our students and young people isn’t just education—it’s liberation.”

Miles was presented with the award at the 57th Annual Medgar Evers Awards Gala at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center on June 21.

This year, Miles was also the recipient of a University at Buffalo Sustainability Leadership, Innovation and Collaborative Engagement (SLICE) Award for climate justice and the Arther O. Eve Education and Community Service Award, awarded by New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, both recognizing her commitment to education, environmental justice and community empowerment.

Miles earned her PhD in science education and master’s degree in geological and earth sciences from the University at Buffalo.