Environmental racism is the intentional – and sometimes unintentional – allocation of nuclear testing, extraction, and disposal of hazardous waste that occurs in and around poor neighborhoods, where the communities mostly consist of people of color. It can be called an extension of institutionalized racism, locking these disenfranchised communities to hazardous zones since they lack the political power to resist the introduction of industries that inject dangerous materials into their backyards.
Flint – An Example of Environmental Ignorance
Flint, Michigan is an unfortunate example of this ongoing insensitivity. Sourcing water from the Flint River had almost immediate consequences, with residents complaining about rashes and outbreaks in the following months. These events came to a head in November of 2015, with Flint residents filing a class action lawsuit against Governor Rick Snyder and Dan Wyant, former head of the Michigan Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ). What caused Flint’s water system to collapse? State figureheads were overriding local policies just to be “fiscally responsible.”
Corporate identities breaching into neighborhoods and undermining their residents isn’t a unique phenomenon to Flint. It’s an occurrence that has plagued American communities for many decades.
Black Americans Lived Near Refinery For More Than A Century
Located in California, the Chevron Richmond Refinery processed thousands of barrels of crude oil. Waste products littered the landscape, with toxic levels of diesel particles affecting the health of the nearby Black population.
Animal Feeding Operations Disproportionally Located in Poor Communities
Pigs pose a health risk, especially if their waste isn’t processed correctly. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill noted that proximity to these facilities is associated with air and water pollution. The collection of pigs creates concentrations of nitrate, which is a leading cause of birth defects, especially blue baby syndrome. In the mid-1990s, several spills from the farms infiltrated local sources of water.
There’s A Cancer Valley in Louisiana, And Black People Live Right In The Middle of It
St. James Parish is affected with factories releasing dangerous levels of toxic chemicals into the area. Yuhuang Chemical Inc. is one of the Chinese companies that has settled in St. James Parish. The company has a record of polluting the air and contributing to the soaring cancer rates in the area.
The People Demanding a Change to Environmental Racism
Rashida Tlaib is a state representative from Southeast Detroit, who has a focus on environmental justice. Her main campaign issues concentrate on requiring school districts to take note of the environmental implications of expanding, and make sure that acquiring land will protect the health of the surrounding neighborhoods.
The move for environmental justice is rightfully being peddled as a basic right. All Americans – regardless of class, color, or racial background – should be able to live and operate in a space that is free from direct hazardous waste. There are already laws to protect the welfare of citizens, but they are not implemented evenly. Do your part and contact the United States Environmental Protection Agency if you expect mismanagement of hazardous materials in your community.
Featured image by Zainub Razvi on Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
