Alexis Papali

Papali supports the critical race theory-influenced concepts of “environmental justice” and “equity.” ⁶ He has called capitalism the “most damaging” of systems impacting the global political economy and said there must first be a “collective process of mental decolonizing” to develop an alternative to capitalism as an economic system. ⁷

Papali conducted much of his previous activism for Clean Water Action in Massachusetts and is originally from Boston, where he first became involved with left-wing activism as a high school student. ^{8 9} Papali’s commentary has appeared in several of the state’s leading news publications, including the Boston Globe and the Herald News, a local paper published by Gannett, the publisher of USA Today. ^{10 11} In a 2023 podcast about creating microgrids, he praised the Biden administration’s far-left Justice40 Initiative  and claimed to have been in contact with the Department of Energy to ensure that left-of-center “environmental justice communities” are at the head of the line for federal resourcing. ¹²

Career

Alexis “Alex” Papali ¹ is a former organizer for left-of-center environmentalist group Clean Water Action’s Green Justice Campaign. ² Papali worked at Clean Water Action from April 2010 until 2020 ³ on issues such as the environmentalist concept of “energy democracy” and building community microgrids. ⁹

During his time working for Clean Water Action in Massachusetts, Papali helped promote the organization’s anti-fossil fuel and pro-environmentalist agenda in local and state politics. This included participating in a summit with Boston officials where activists pushed for policies that would require city contracts to meet environmentalist criteria. ¹³ He also wrote a Clean Water Action statement supporting the Green New Deal, a set of proposed federal government policies intended to make sweeping changes to the United States economy and to American society with the stated purpose of averting the alleged dangers of man-made climate change. In addition, the statement attacked the administration of then-Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) for approving a permit for a planned gas pipeline, as well as perceived concessions to utility companies and insufficient attention to what the group called “environmental justice.” ¹⁴

Previously, Papali was the political director at the Center for Economic Democracy (CED) ¹⁵ and the primary coordinator of the Worcester Community Energy Alliance. ¹⁶ He also worked as the director of regional economies for CED ⁷ and has been a steering committee member at the Climate Adaptation Forum, organized by the Environmental Business Council of New England and the University of Massachusetts Boston Sustainable Solutions Lab. ¹⁷

Papali also has coordinated the Boston Recycling Coalition, ⁹ has been a member of the advisory board of the Mass Redistribution Fund, ¹⁸ and has been an organizer with the Boston branch of Jericho Movement. ^{19 18}

“Cop City” Arrest

In March 2023, Papali was one of 23 individuals arrested ²⁰ for their roles in an allegedly violent, left-wing Antifa-associated attack on the “Cop City” law-enforcement training facility in Atlanta, Georgia. ²¹ His one-time employer Clean Water Action declined to comment and attempted to distance itself from Papali, claiming that he had not worked for the organization since July 2020. ^{22 23}

Activist Positions

Alex Papali supports the critical race theory-influenced concepts of environmental justice and equity ⁶ and has called capitalism the “most damaging” of systems impacting the global political economy. He has also said there needs to be a “collective process of mental decolonizing” to address capitalism and other issues. ⁷ He criticized the Trump administration’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and supported release of prisoners and suspension of rent and mortgage payments during the pandemic. ²⁴ Papali also supports a ban on plastic bags. ²⁵

Papali has claimed that the United States’ “pernicious histories of white supremacy and systemic racism” have caused low-income and minority communities to suffer more from pollution, poor infrastructure, and so-called “climate risks” than other groups. ²⁶

Papali supported state-level legislation in Massachusetts to advance the critical race theory-influenced concept of environmental justice ²⁷ and has called for Massachusetts to “prioritize equity” in its energy efficiency programs. ⁶

In a 2023 podcast about creating microgrids, Papali praised the Biden administration’s far-left Justice40 Initiative. He also claimed to have been in contact with the Department of Energy to ensure that the left-of-center “environmental justice communities” are at the head of the line for resourcing. ¹² In 2022, he was a guest speaker at an event on the concept of economic justice at Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute. ²⁸