M3.3 Environmental Justice Blog

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This summer I took a course in community based participatory research. One of the topics we discussed a case study focusing on the Richmond Environmental Justice movement, in which the city of Richmond through community empowerment and advocacy efforts, challenged Chevron its pollution of vulnerable low income African American communities. Too often than not, many communities of color are often rendered helpless in the pollution of their bodies due to institutionalized racism and corporate efforts to silence their experiences. It is no surprise to me that low income communities of color are the ones that suffer the most when it comes to environmental inequities.

 The power inequalities associated with class and race are so intertwined in the issue of environmental justice. If the communities being affected were white and more affluent, there would be more action to protect the health and well being of said communities. Often, when we think of environmentalism, people often perceive it as an inherently white movement. However, movements and summits such as the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit the Richmond movement against Chevron, and Standing Rock are powerful examples of people of color rising above and advocating for their right to live and thrive in healthy environments. 

Essentially, we must realize that environmental justice is cross cultural and inter-sectional in terms of the people it effects. Though President Clinton signed off on the 1994 executive order emphasizing the importance of environmental justice, we still have a ways to go in terms of actually enforcing its true value as companies continue to get away with the poisoning of vulnerable communities. This will continue to be an ongoing struggle, but it is exciting to see presently the growth in pro-activeness and empowerment of communities of color to take back the environment and their health.



Feel free to check out the Richmond Environmental Justice case study here: http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/sherman.html


Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2018 at 3:50 PM

    I think you make some really great points here. The damage that Chevron did to the city and people of Richmond, CA is just so shameful. The residents of areas like Richmond, CA and Chester, PA are often lower-income minorities, and we have often watched as they’re taken advantage of by powerful interests time and time again. Efforts like the movements you mention are helpful in resistance, but we’ll need to see a stronger push in the years ahead if we want to prevent another Chevron incident.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sintia ShahbazNovember 5, 2018 at 6:28 PM

    I like the point that you made when saying that low income minorities are those that are being effected. I think that is true in all places, even where I live this seems to be true. The damage done is really big and sad, but hopefully in the near future we can see some big changes.

    ReplyDelete

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