How Systematic Racism Shapes Environmental Harm
By: Hazel Fitzpatrick
To understand our environment, we must first understand who pays the price for its damage. Throughout this series of blog posts, we will dive into the Environmental Justice social movement. We will examine its backstory, highlight several environmental racism cases from history, choose one example to discuss what could have been done differently, and explore its current state.
To understand how Environmental Justice emerged as its own movement, we have to look at the ways environmental harm has never been evenly distributed. While the broader environmental movement brought national attention to pollution, endangered species, and the overall health of our planet, it did not address the fact that certain communities were facing far more danger than others. Eventually, coverage of this imbalance revealed a gap in the mainstream environmental movement and created the need for a new approach.
Environmental racism refers to the policies, practices, or decisions that place hazardous or harmful conditions disproportionately in communities of color. Although environmental racism is rarely addressed, we see it every day in the choices of where to locate landfills, highways, incinerators, chemical plants, oil refineries, and most recently data centers to power increased use of Artificial Intelligence. These decisions do not occur by accident. We continue to see patterns of discrimination that we have witnessed for decades now.
So, what does Environmental Justice even mean? Environmental Justice is a movement that advocates for the protection of low-income, marginalized communities against harmful environmental impacts. Their central message is that no one group should be expected to bear the cost of environmental harm. Advocates and communities fight for this through policy changes and education on environmental justice and environmental racism.
In 1982, we saw the first appearance of the movement in action. Protests broke out in Warren County, North Carolina, after the city decided to dump PCB-contaminated soil in a predominantly black community. This release of harmful chemicals into this small rural community risked the health and safety of the entire population. The decision launched weeks of nonviolent protests, including activists sitting on the road blocking the trucks carrying the soil from passing by. Although ultimately unsuccessful, many consider this the catalyst for the movement because it brought national attention to environmental racism and got the attention of civil rights activists as well as environmental activists.
By the 1990s, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), a caucus of black members of the United States Congress, had one of the strongest environmental legislation voting records. The CBC held the EPA accountable during this time, highlighting that many of their practices were disregarding the needs of low-income and minority communities. This launched many subcommittees and workgroups whose goal was to address environmental inequities.
The United Church of Christ published a study in 1987 that showed a direct correlation between race and proximity to hazardous waste sites titled “Toxic Wastes and Race.” This was the first national analysis of this topic and showed undeniable data. The findings proved that race was the strongest predictor of someone living near a hazardous waste site, stronger than income, poverty, or home ownership. This data validated community concerns that had been swept under the rug and forced policymakers to confront the blaring issue of environmental racism.
Much of environmental racism comes from early discriminatory zoning and housing practices. Redlining from the 1930s through the 1960s determined which neighborhoods were “desirable” for investment. However, communities that experienced redlining, often majority black or immigrant populations, still feel the impacts today through harmful environmental effects. Many harmful facilities moved to these communities due to the more affordable land, creating air and water pollution.
The combination of small community protests, scientific data, and decades of discriminatory policy made it clear that traditional environmentalism was not enough. The Environmental Justice movement emerged because communities of color demanded that pollution was becoming a civil rights issue. Even today, the movement’s work feels far from over as we see environmental racism cases such as Hurricane Katrina, the Flint water crisis, and Asthma Alley.
Learn More About This Topic:
YouTube Documentary: Environmental Protection Agency: Journey to Justice: The Road Ahead | FULL DOCUMENTARY | US EPA