Impact of Pollution on Marginalized Communities of Color

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The Motiva oil refinery in Texas. The Houston Ship Channel is a petrochemical hub adjoining neighborhoods with sizable numbers of Black and Hispanic residents. Credit...Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times

Poisoned tap water in Flint, Michigan. A town in China where 80% of children were poisoned by old computer parts. People of color are two times more likely to live without potable water and modern sanitization. What do all of these have in common? They are all acts of Environmental Racism, the intentional neglect and deportation towards more destructed and unhealthy environments.

When one discusses acts of racism, slander or the stereotyping of other people may come to mind. However, the concept of environmental racism rarely crosses anyone’s mind. Sadly, this is becoming a global issue that has started to arise to the surface.

This form of racism involves positioning dominant environmental framing as racially driven, with the separation of various groups and placing a certain minority on top. Environmental Racism is the institutional framework established by white people that were made to influence and destroy people of color through the segregation of these ethnicities into poorer communities pervaded by toxic, polluted waste sites. Once environmental racism is recognized as a subgroup of subjective racism, the intent of placing people of color into poor, marginalized, and environmentally hazardous communities becomes clear.

Communities of color in the U.S. have started to become the dumping grounds for our nation’s waste disposal, as well as home to various agricultural and manufacturing industries that pollute the land even more. Without more stringent enforcement mechanisms and penalties in place, this nation will continue to see this type of discrimination and environmental racism.

Protesters asking for reparations for the contaminated water supply in Flint, Michigan. Credit // YES! Magazine  The Harsh Reality of Pollution

The burden of air pollution is not evenly shared. Emissions from fossil fuel combustion, the primary source of global climate change, create local air pollutants such as Nitrogen oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, and mercury. Low-income and ethnic groups are among those who face higher exposure to pollutants and who live near these areas of pollution. For example, a study conducted by the Front & Centered Organization in 2014 showed the index exposure by ethnicity in Washington. According to the bar graph below, white people receive the least exposure to these chemicals while Black and Asians receive much more hazardous exposure. White people are almost 25% unlikely to receive toxic diseases from pollution compared to the higher percentages of Asian and Black exposure. 

Front&Centered, 2014

When looking at the exposure to pollution created from fossil fuels, it is clear that communities of color in Washington currently face disproportionately poor opportunities in life. The exposure risks are more severe as multiple sources of pollution can aggregate and concentrate in such communities, spreading the uneven racial advantage in the U.S.

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"They never told us Uranium was dangerous"

Back in the 90s, companies recruited Navajo men and women to work for them. In return, they received flour, potatoes, and coffee. They also received multiple exposures to radioactive ore and toxic by-products. Homes were built on top of the abandoned mining areas. Kids play in waste piles. Everyone drank the contaminated groundwater, and they still do today.

Cecilia Joe, an 85 year old resident in the Navajo area, states how she was never told about the water consisting of uranium. In fact, she would "put it on her teeth" to imitate gold teeth (Augusta, daughter of Joe, Berkeley Political Review in an Interview). Joe and many others' experiences illustrate the under-researched but extremely pervasive problem of environmental justice on Native Americans and people of color in general. In fact, out of all the ethnic groups in America, Native Americans are at the "most risk of toxic exposure" (Berkeley Political Review).

Furthermore, according to the World Economic Forum, a 2007 study by Dr. Robert Bullard found that White people who tend to make less than African Americans live healthier lives than African Americans. His research also proved that "African American children were five times more likely to have lead poisoning from proximity waste" than Caucasian children.

You can connect a lot of this income and pollution crisis to racism. The government neglects other races and has a more extensive bias toward a more “perfect” race. By placing them in unbearable situations, many forget the struggles they go through on a daily basis. Environmental Racism is part of a broader picture of systematic racism, which must be fought to lead to a better and much fairer society.

Geographical Disparities

There are many geographical disparities that come when talking about Environmental Racism. According to the educators at Princeton University on their website, Racial Disparities and Climate Change, they go in-depth on various types of environmental racism. According to their research. more than "one million African Americans live within a half mile of natural gas facilities" (princeton.edu). Over 1 million African Americans also face a "cancer risk above the EPA's level of concern" (princeton.edu).

The placement of certain African Americans near these areas directs a fine line of racist injustice. The establishment of slavery is a precursor to these recent policies and inequalities. Lower income level, limited access to education, and the poor setting is found to be more prevalent in people of color than non-Hispanic, white Americans. The historical discriminatory practices in housing, education, employment, and  health care all play a role in the manifestation of these inequalities that contribute to greater vulnerability to climate impacts.

Michele Roberts, environmental justice coordinator, Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, D.C. Source: www.dicksimon.com.

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Bridging the Racial Gap

The term “environmental racism” was coined in the United States in 1982 by African American Civil Rights leader Benjamin Chavis. A landmark study in 2007 by Dr. Robert Bullard, who is considered the “father of environmental justice,” found that race was an important socioeconomic factor that determined their location. They were looked to be far threatened to face problems near hazardous waste areas. Bullard has raised awareness for these problems, and since then, many have started to take action. 

Some community groups, according to the World Resources Institute, include the New York-based group, WE ACT for Environmental Justice. This organization has successfully led various efforts to mandate “statewide lead testing of schools’ drinking water”, citing evidence that pollution was more prevalent “in communities of color” (WRI.org). They prioritize a large majority of colored communities that deal with these toxic illnesses WE ACT is one of the very few programs that prioritize the large majority of colored people. Their efforts on expanded awareness of the disproportionate effects on people of color and strengthened the city’s policies on health and justice. This is one of the many organizations that need more support by others to advance this movement further.

Marchers in New York on June 26, 2020, press for a response to climate change and racial injustice. Photo: Felton Davis, Flickr Creative Commons.

Conclusion

One should not tolerate the fact that a certain percentage of city residents live in much worse environmental conditions than others - It is necessary to modernize industry and talk about the social responsibilities and liabilities of companies. Within districts, environmental factors are unevenly distributed. It may seem at a first glance that there is no systematic problem and that it is a natural development. However, within a society, nothing happens for no reason. It is our job to protect these people of color from experiencing differences in our communities. Through illuminating and dismantling government policies, we can help recover impacted communities from the legacies of environmental racism. In the process, our understood framework of environmental justice will be much more comprehensive.

Works Cited

Beech, Peter. “What Is Environmental Racism and How Can We Fight It?” World Economic Forum, 31 July 2020, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/what-is-environmental-racism-pollution-covid-systemic/.

Beecham, Marie. “How to Unite the Fight for Racial Equity and Environmental Action.” NRDC, 29 Sept. 2020, www.nrdc.org/stories/how-unite-fight-racial-equity-and-environmental-action.

Colon, Jacques. “Data Shows Race Key Factor in Air Pollution Exposure in Washington.” Front and Centered, 6 Apr. 2016, frontandcentered.org/data-shows-race-key-factor-in-air-pollution-exposure-in-Washington/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.

Davis, Joseph. “Environmental Justice Stories Will Keep Proliferating in 2021.” SEJ, 14 Dec. 2020, www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/environmental-justice-stories-will-keep-proliferating-2021.

GotGreen, Editors. “Who We Are | Got Green.” GotGreen, 2016, www.gotgreenseattle.org/home/who-we-are/#about. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.

Izundu, Chi Chi, et al. “Jackson Water Crisis: A Legacy of Environmental Racism?” BBC News, 4 Sept. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62783900.

Manjeshwar, Sanjana. “The Lasting Harms of Toxic Exposure in Native American Communities – Berkeley Political Review.” Bpr.berkeley.edu, UC Berkeley, 10 July 2021, bpr.berkeley.edu/2021/07/10/the-lasting-harms-of-toxic-exposure-in-native-american-communities/.

Moses, Elizabeth, and Carole Excell. “Pollution Is a Racial Justice Issue. Let’s Fight It That Way.” Www.wri.org, vol. 1, no. 3, 22 Oct. 2020, www.wri.org/insights/pollution-racial-justice-issue-lets-fight-it-way.

Patnaik, Aneesh, et al. “Racial Disparities and Climate Change.” PSCI, 15 Aug. 2020, psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/8/15/racial-disparities-and-climate-change.

Staff, UDB. “Utah Diné Bikéyah: #StandWithBearsEars.” UtahDineBikeyah, 2012, utahdinebikeyah.org/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.