What is Environmental Racism?
Written by Kaylee Morgan
9 times out of 10 when conversations turn to the environment, we go straight to climate change. We talk about recycling, pollution, the carbon footprint, etc. We think of Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg, and all the girls who want to save the turtles (I say this because I am one). These are all very important issues, and I give thanks to the environmental advocates fighting to save our planet.
However, I would like to shift today’s discussion about the environment to environmental racism and how exactly we can advocate for the planet and also the people who reside on it.
What is Environmental Racism?
Environmental Racism refers to the way in which minority group neighborhoods (populated primarily by people of color and members of low socioeconomic groups) are burdened with a disproportionate number of hazards, including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution and foul odors that lower the quality of life.
What’s the Idea?
The phrase Environmental Racism was coined by Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis. This phrase then was polished and pioneered by Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the “Father of Environmental Justice” by many in the justice realm.
Environmental justice, rooted in the civil rights movement, really took off in 1982 when protests began to take place in Warren County, a predominantly Black community in North Carolina. There was a plan to place a hazardous waste landfill in their community and the residents weren’t having it. Following these protests, the Environmental Protection Agency investigated three similar landfills in Southern states like South Carolina and Alabama and found that they were all located in Black or low-income areas.
Since then we have seen cases of environmental injustices such as the Flint Water Crisis, Cancer Valley, and the e-waste toxins that exist in Agbogbloshie, Ghana – proving that this is not only a problem in the United States of America, but is a global issue that must be talked about.
What Can You Do?
- Educate Yourself
- Just like any justice issue, you must be informed and stay informed. Make it a habit to expand the justice issues you choose to research. One way you could educate yourself is by finding local organizations and seeing how you may get involved in the fight for justice. However, here is a list of organizations that you can start looking into while you research your local area.
- Take Action
- If we want to see change, it requires action. Contact your local government, sign petitions, organize a community clean-up, and/or donate to a local organization. Any little bit helps.
- Advocate for Change
- Use your platform to elevate the voices of those impacted by environmental racism. Make sure you’re bringing to others’ attention that there is an actual problem here and we must fight to fix it.
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