Examples Of Environmental Racism

There exists a pattern of historically disenfranchised groups in the United States, such as minorities and low-income communities, being exposed to a disproportionate level of environmental hazards such as toxic waste, pollution and urban decay. This relationship between social and environmental aspects has been termed environmental racism, and beginning in the mid to late 20th century the Environmental Justice Movement grew to combat the politically normalized existence of environmental racism (Cole). The Environmental Justice Movement began as a grassroots environmental movement that faced many obstacles stemming from deeply rooted social constructs regarding race, and social class. The social standing of the communities that caused corporations

Cole and Sheila R. Foster, discusses what happened in Buttonwillow, California in the early 1990s as an example of environmental racism. A community built on agriculture and oil production, with nearly 50% of the population being Latino, Buttonwillow hosted one of the three toxic waste dumps in California. The community members noticed that the toxic waste dump nearby was affecting their health and they began assembling to address the issue of the Lokern facility that had 200+ trucks of toxic waste coming in every day. With 50% of the community being Latino, there was a language barrier in meetings with county officials and the Local Assessment Committee (LAC), which was, “…a group appointed by the Kern County Board of Supervisors under a California State Law known as the Tanner Act” (Cole 82). At one LAC meeting they refused to translate what was being said to Spanish, and the entire audience left to show solidarity with the 70% of the audience that primarily spoke Spanish. With the technical language used in politics and corporate business, and the fact that business documents are almost exclusively English in the United States, the Buttonwillow community struggled in getting their voice heard. Through persistent efforts the communities continued to protest and Buttonwillow citizens demanded the language barrier be

Cole and Sheila R. Foster, as, “…emblematic of the social, political, and economic forces that shape the disproportionate distribution of environmental hazards in poor communities of color” (Cole 34). Delaware County is only 6.2% African American yet Chester is comprised of 39,000 people, 65% of which are African American. The median family income is 45% lower in Chester than in all of Delaware County and the poverty rate is more than three times the poverty rate of all of Delaware County. Chester also happens to have the largest garbage-burning incinerator in the state (and the 7th largest in the nation) located directly across the street from residential houses, the biggest infectious and chemotherapeutic medical waste autoclave in the nation next to the garbage burning incinerator (Thermal Pure Systems), and the DELCORA sewage treatment facility that treats 90% of Delaware County’s sewage as 20% of their capacity and the other 80% of treated sewage comes from industries in Chester itself (Environmental). To little surprise Chester also has the highest child mortality rate in the