We all know what racism is and most of us have encountered racism, whether we were a part of it, or witnessed it happen. Yet, it seems like all we know is one form of racism, and that is discrimination against someone else's persona, i.e., color of their skin, where they're from, their culture or anything that involves who that person is. There is another form of racism that fully impacts the lives of minorities, and I am talking about African American, Latinos, and Native Americans, and that is, Environmental Racism. Environmental racism can be described as, “Racial discrimination in environmental policy making, the enforcement of regulations and laws, the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning of the life-threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in our communities, and the history of excluding people of color from leadership of the ecology movements.” This termed was coined by Benjamin Chavis and clearly specifies who is the targeted groups that are being discriminated against.
Personal impact
The reason why I chose to write about this topic was because I myself was not too aware of how my neighborhood was strongly impacted by Environmental Racism, and when I started putting two and two together, I realized that this was something that I wanted to learn more about and put forward so that my community would know what it is dealing with and understand the ways in which they are participating and being targeted by Environmental Racism. I live in Los Angeles, South Central to be exact, and because of where I live, I am at risk of developing both respiratory and lung problems, as well as being at risk of developing cancer, with a 25% more that those who do not live in a community similar to mine, for example, White communities. The community that I live in is surrounded by both, freeways and factories, which means that the amount of undesirable chemicals that we are almost forced to breath are very high.
Research
According to research, those who suffer from environmental racism are usually African American and Latinos. They are most likely to be exposed to high and hazardous air pollutants, which can also cause many of the sicknesses that these people suffer, such as asthma, many types of lung failures, and even cancer. In Los Angeles, and more specifically South Central Los Angeles, "residents live within 500 feet of a truck route, eight percent live within 500 feet of a manufacturing facility, and at least 51 active oil wells still operate in residential neighborhoods." The question one may ask is how is it possible or even allowed for people to be living next to something that will cause so much harm to them? Or How did South LA, a predominantly black and brown low income community, become home to multiple sources of pollution? It was planned. Every freeway, every plant waste, or factory that was ever built in these communities were all planned to go across or to be established in these lo income communities, because like racism, these non-White communities are not cared for, and their opinions are invalid. Something that would not happen in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Hollywood, communities that are predominately White. It is not enough that non-White communities are almost already forced to live in communities where air pollution or water pollution is bad, yet they still have to suffer the burden of thinking that their way of living in these conditions is their fault, and they should be the once that to change. They are often told to recycle more, which they do, they are often told not to waste as much, which they don't, and in reality most of the pollution that they are exposed to comes from White consumerism, and yet they suffer the consequences. "Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found black people are exposed to about 56 percent more pollution than caused by their consumption. That number was even higher for non-white Hispanics, who breathe in 63 percent more air pollution than they cause. As for white Americans, the study found they breathe in 17 percent less air pollution than they cause." These issues are not by mere chance, they all happen for a reason, and that reason being, racism!
Statistics
- A case study of The Bronx, New York, found that individuals who live close to noxious industrial facilities and waste sites were 66% more likely to be hospitalized for asthma. Significantly, these same individuals were 13% more likely to be people of color.
- A report titled “Toxic Waste and Race at Twenty” reviewed data collected over a 20-year time period and found that more than half of the people who live within 1.86 miles of toxic waste facilities in the United States are people of color.
- A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that 11.2% of African American children and 4% of Mexican-American children are poisoned by lead, compared with 2.3% of white children.
- Three out of five African Americans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites.
Word of the Community
Abygail Liera
"I was aware of environmental racism, but I think because of the issue of climate change we neglect to see how we can fix this issue. Many people like Latinos and African Americans are the one who are paying the price and people over look that because this situation looks so normal that people overlook it. I live in the valley, what people forget is the valley was a location where the majority of the surroundings were factories. As the valley has expanded the factories are still here but we do not have to deal with as much smog and chemicals as Los Angeles. this situation does not affect me personal but I do see it as a personal attack on people of color. As soon as a city starts to become gentrified the city does start to be cleaner and look nicer, but it is only because people (usually white people) move in, and the city starts to make it a more suitable living environment to accommodate certain races or classes. The only thing at the time I can do is try to help raise awareness of this situation. It is a difficult challenge seeing how it is an expensive place to live and many people can barley afford to live where they are at and have to settle for an environment that is harmful to themselves and or their families."
Yuliana Carpinteyro
"I ever really paid attention much to it but after reading your article it made me really think about what is happening around our community. As a student who commutes from Santa Monica to south central, I can tell the difference in the air and the environment, and I don’t only blame white people because it’s also the people around us that cause that pollution due to not having enough money to get a new car which will benefit the environment instead of the old one that throws a lot of contaminated air and they also throw trash everyone which is harmful to everyone. And I feel that, it happens because In South Central they are not strict about how things are suppose to be everywhere. And it has affected us due to having more insects in our area that sometimes carry diseases like mosquitoes which makes us more likely to get sick. I wish I could do more to help my community but I feel that it should be something we all do together. Sure I can change things by myself but things will stay the same if people don’t start doing something about it and unite to change what they have gotten so used to. I appreciate you teaching me something I didn’t know before due to thinking it was normal to live like this. Yeah I see cleaner communities but never really understood why??"
Work Cited
Environmental Justice. (2018). Retrieved from https://nccj.org/environmentaljustice
Huerta, E. (2017). Between the 110 and the 405: Environmental Injustice in South Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://scopela.org/between-the-110-and-the-405-environmental-injustice-in-south-los-angeles
Lambert, J. (2019). Study Finds Racial Gap Between Who Causes Air Pollution And Who Breathes It. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/11/702348935/study-finds-racial-gap-between-who-causes-air-pollution-and-who-breathes-it.
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