As residents of the wealthiest country on the planet, having clean air, water, access to food and living free of harmful toxins shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a right. Unfortunately, communities of color continue to bear the burden of environmental racism and neglect. Like our last post on How Transportation Shaped Black Communities, I am listing articles that feature communities suffering at the hands of environmental injustice. While administrations and policies change, it is important to remember that there are humans caught in the cross hairs of politics and willful neglect. It is up to each of us to share their stories, advocate with them, and work to combat environmental racism.
- Sandbranch Texas: A Small Community Denied Water for Over 30 Years Fights Back
Learn more about this community that has no running water and since the 1980’s has only had contaminated well water.
- How Much More Environmental Injustice Must Uniontown Alabama Bear
Find out how Uniontown, Alabama became the dumping ground for coal ash while those in power looked the other way
- Poor, minorities carry the burden of frack waste in South Texas
Explore how the new fracking industry disproportionately harms Latino and Black communities
- Flint Water Crisis Fast Facts
Review the events leading up to current regarding the Flint water crisis
These select articles do not do justice to an issue that pervades marginalized communities; however, they do provide some context to issues that too many communities face. Unfortunately, race matters when it comes to waste. We must advocate for regulations, more stringent policies, enforcement and cleaner technologies until environmental racism is eradicated.
Chanceé Lundy Russell is the Co-Founder of Nspiregreen LLC an environmental consulting, urban planning and public engagement firm based in Washington, DC. The Selma, Alabama native received her BS in Environmental Science from Alabama A&M University and her MS in Civil Engineering from Florida State University. She is passionate about environmental justice issues and works to create healthy, livable communities for all.
