Environmental Racism: How Did We Get Here?

Introduction

Throughout history, low-income communities of color have been subject to unfair treatment in numerous aspects of life. While there are copious variables fueling systemic racial inequalities in America, the focus of this article will be centered around environmental injustices among underprivileged communities.

Toxic dumps, landfills, power plants, and hazardous waste facilities are disproportionately located in poor neighborhoods of color.[i] These communities are often targeted due to their lack of economic ability to demand relocation of hazardous facilities to areas outside of their neighborhood. The term used to define such targeted behavior is devised environmental racism. This is a form of systemic racism where neighborhoods of color are inexplicably exposed to toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes through the targeted mapping and planning of facilities in vulnerable neighborhoods.

History

The issues of environmental racism are deeply rooted in the formation of our nation. Native Americans were thrown off their lands, as the white man ‘colonized’ and controlled the progress and outcome of future development. Instead of learning the traditions and practices of the Natives, invaders chose to strip an entire race of their land, culture, and way of life.[iii]

Other forms of environmental racism have continued to persist in America, including but not limited to migrant farmworkers', exposure to toxic pesticides, human ‘sacrifice zones’, lead-based poisoning in communities of color, historical housing issues, and the targeted exclusion of services in susceptible communities.[iv] Vulnerable groups in society are often excluded from the decision-making process, mainstream environmental groups and committees, and experience discrimination in enforcing environmental regulations and laws.[v]

The first national report on environmental racism, commissioned by The United Church of Christ, was released in 1987.[vi] The report, Toxic Waste and Race, was the first national study conducted on the racial placement of hazardous sites near African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native American communities.[vii] The report was later updated to Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty, which concluded that little to no progress has been made since the original report was published decades ago.

Redlining

Redlining began in the 1930s when color-coded maps were used to

pinpoint the “safest” areas in the community for investors.[viii] The federal government used the map to exclude certain neighborhoods from receiving mortgages. Communities of color were highlighted in red, creating a difficult and unfair barrier between neighborhoods of color and white communities.[ix] This form of discrimination has continued to fuel the current levels of division today.

Redlining has created persisting and lasting disparities among low-income communities across America. These communities experience higher rates of environmental issues including aging infrastructure, and vulnerability to heat waves. Redlining has led poor communities to a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect- where an increase in grey infrastructure can lead to the urban heat island effect- leading to a rise in serious health problems.[x] Areas provided with shade, parks, green spaces, etc., are less affected by extreme heat waves and typically have longer life expectancies. Most redlined areas have up to a 30-year shorter lifespan than areas that were not redlined.[xi]

Warren County, North Carolina

The term environmental racism caught wave in 1982, when Dr. Benjamin Chavis, civil rights leader, and leader of Wilmington Ten, spearheaded a protest towards a designated hazardous landfill in one of North Carolina’s poorest and predominately black counties.[xii] At the time, the area consisted of the most prominent African American population in the state,[xiii] and 20% of the citizens lived below the federal poverty level.[xiv]

The Warren County PCB Landfill was designed to bury large quantities of contaminated soil that had been illegally sprayed with oil containing PCB, a known carcinogen,[xvi] along 210 miles of highway.[xvii] Chavis advocated against the location of the landfill, which would expose 60,000 tons of toxic soil into the backyards of an already vulnerable community.[xviii] Warren County is often referred to as the ‘birthplace’ of the environmental justice movement due to the efforts of Chavis and the citizens of Afton.

Sacrifice Zones

Sacrifice zones refer to the geographic location of fenceline communities- neighborhoods living adjacent to polluting industries- where the majority of the population are low-income, and communities of color.[xix] Toxic industries intentionally locate hazardous facilities in the vicinity of susceptible individuals, exposing them to higher risks of developing serious health complications.[xx] Sacrifice zones are an outcome of modern societies' corporate-run world, where toxic-polluting industries are suffocating the plan

et, and contributing to the disproportionate exposure of harmful chemicals and degraded quality of life in vulnerable communities.

Cancer Alley is a notorious example, where residents are 50x more at risk of developing cancer than the national average.[xxi] Cancer Alley is in the state of Louisiana, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where 100 petrochemical plants line 85 miles of highway.[xxii] The region has been poisoned for decades. According to an article posted by The Guardian, cancer has touched almost every household in the area.[xxiii]

What's being done?

Minority communities have been historically oppressed, making it hard to break the cycle of institutional subjugation. When limitations are emplaced upon certain communities, by the same entities causing the damage, it makes it difficult to fight back. In an effort to reverse environmental inequalities across the globe, several organizations have dedicated their time and effort to making a stand and demanding action:

• The Sunrise Movement

• Project Eats

• Generation Green

• Intersectional Environmentalist

As the state of our planet worsens, the level of environmental injustices will increase, and the reach of the individuals affected will amplify. It’s important for people to take a stand and voice their concerns regarding the protection and safety of all citizens in America, but most importantly the ones who have been silenced.

Sources: [i] W. E. F. writer. (n.d.). What is environmental racism and how can we fight it? World Economic Forum. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/what-is-environmental-racism-pollution-covid-systemic/. [ii] With environmental rollbacks, communities of color continue to bear disproportionate pollution burden. With Environmental Rollbacks, Communities of Color Continue to Bear Disproportionate Pollution Burden | State Impact Center. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/state-impact/blog/environmental-justice-juneteenth-2019. [iii] Bullard, R. D. (1993). Confronting environmental racism: Voices from the grassroots. South End Press. [iv] Bullard, R. D. (1993). Confronting environmental racism: Voices from the grassroots. South End Press. [v] Bullard, R. D. (1993). Confronting environmental racism: Voices from the grassroots. South End Press. [vi] Toxic Wates and Race in The Unites States. A National Report on the Racial and Socio-Economic Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous Waste Sites. Commission For Racial Justice. United Church of Christ. 1987. Retrieved October 14, 2021. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1310/ML13109A339.pdf [vii] Toxic Wates and Race in The Unites States. A National Report on the Racial and Socio-Economic Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous Waste Sites. Commission For Racial Justice. United Church of Christ. 1987. Retrieved October 14, 2021. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1310/ML13109A339.pdf [viii] Vermeer, D. (n.d.). News. Redlining and Environmental Racism. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://seas.umich.edu/news/redlining-and-environmental-racism. [ix] Vermeer, D. (n.d.). News. Redlining and Environmental Racism. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://seas.umich.edu/news/redlining-and-environmental-racism. [x] Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands [xi] Godoy, M. (2020, November 19). In U.S. cities, the health effects of past housing discrimination are plain to see. NPR. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/19/911909187/in-u-s-cities-the-health-effects-of-past-housing-discrimination-are-plain-to-see [xii] March 17, 2016 R. S. V. M. (2021, February 24). The Environmental Justice Movement. NRDC. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-movement. [xiii] A movement is born: Environmental justice and the UCC. United Church of Christ. (2021, April 6). Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/justice-local-church-ministries/justice/faithful-action-ministries/environmental-justice/a_movement_is_born_environmental_justice_and_the_ucc/. [xiv] Gervich, C. D. (n.d.). Embracing Diversity in Environmental Decision Making. Retrieved October 14, 2021. https://semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/174868.pdf [xv] A watershed moment for environmental justice-the Warren County PCB protests. NC DNCR. (2013, February 26). Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2013/02/26/a-watershed-moment-for-environmental-justice-the-warren-county-pcb-protests. [xvi] Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Learn about Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). EPA. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs#:~:text=The%20International%20Agency%20for%20Research,PCBs%20are%20carcinogenic%20in%20humans. [xvii] Gervich, C. D. (n.d.). Embracing Diversity in Environmental Decision Making. Retrieved October 14, 2021. https://semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/174868.pdf [xviii] March 17, 2016 R. S. V. M. (2021, February 24). The Environmental Justice Movement. NRDC. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-movement. [xix] Project, T. C. R. (2021, May 13). Let's talk about sacrifice zones. Climate Reality. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/lets-talk-about-sacrifice-zones. [xx] Project, T. C. R. (2021, May 13). Let's talk about sacrifice zones. Climate Reality. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/lets-talk-about-sacrifice-zones. [xxi] Project, T. C. R. (2021, May 13). Let's talk about sacrifice zones. Climate Reality. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/lets-talk-about-sacrifice-zones. [xxii] Javorsky, N. (2019, August 20). "god told me to fight"-inside the battle to stop another petrochemical plant in "Cancer alley". Mother Jones. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/god-told-me-to-fight-inside-the-battle-to-stop-another-petrochemical-plant-in-cancer-alley/. [xxiii] Guardian News and Media. (n.d.). 'almost every household has someone that has died from cancer'. The Guardian. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2019/may/06/cancertown-louisana-reserve-special-report.