Environmental Racism in the U.S.

Environmental racism is the social injustice represented by the disproportionately

large number of health and environmental risks cast upon peoples of color in the

communities in which they live. These minorities are the most common victims of

toxic Environmental racism is now well documented in America's communities. From

Baton Rouge's Cancer Alley to South Central Los Angeles millions of Americans live

in housing and physical environments that are over burdened with environmental

problems and d other pollution related illnesses. Grassroots multiracial organizations

have sprung up to initiate lawsuits and fight the polluters. The Louisiana

Environmental Action Network (LEAN) helps in this effort and has offered assistance

in actions against th Certain statistical evidence exists to support the argument the

environmental racism doses occur in certain locations throughout America. Consider

a report called The Landmark Study in 1987, revealed the following: that three out of

every five Black the national average. These statistics are staggering and make it

difficult to understand why and how the government can permit this to occur to in our

own backyards.

There are characteristics that are apparent when considering the extent of

environmental racism and may help explain why it occurs in the first place. For

example, the greatest number of commercial hazardous facilities is located in

communities with industries

The effects of pollution and environmental hazards on people of color, the poor, and

the working class have been overlooked by environmental policy makers because it

is perceived that these communities are politically powerless and would not protest

There is a very influential individual who brought attention to the term environmental

racism. His name is Robert D. Bullard. He is a member of the Clinton Administration's

Environmental Justice Transition team. He was one of the organizers of the With the

knowledge that environmental racism exists there are some very influential laws in

place to assist citizens in the fight against environmental racism. Fore example the

EPA has made significant efforts to promote environmental justice. The However, in

the 1990's the EPA has changed its view of Title VI (Dear 1992). For example, in

Kettlman City supervisors were charged with running discriminatory public

participation proceedings by holding public hearings thirty five miles from Kettlem

One of the first steps toward addressing the problem of environmental racism was the

establishment of the Conference on Race and the Incidence of Environmental

Hazards in 1990 (Bullard 1993). It gave national visibility to the public debate on The

mainstream movement, however, has been criticized for its lack of minority

representation. Critics claim that these organizations fail to recruit minority

memberships and have not addressed the daily environmental hazards in minority

communitie Public outcry has prompted a response from the federal government on

environmental racism. In 1994, on February 11, President Clinton signed an

Executive Order on Environmental Justice addressing environmental racism. The

executive order requires f The laws that are in place however, are not always

successful in preventing environmental racism. That is why citizens who are tired of

being subjected to the dangers of pollution in their communities have been

confronting the power structures throu Watchdog groups are also effective in strategic

planning to combat environmental racism. The group comprises workers, high school

and college students, women, farm workers, and inner city residents who are victims

of environmental racism. The Watchd It is a fact that there is a prominent problem of

environmental racism throughout the U.S. More importantly is the fact that

environmental racism that does occur is gaining recognition, publicity, and support

from programs such as LEAN, individuals l

Bibliography

1.Clavel, Pierre. 1994. "The Evolution of Advocacy Planning," Journal of the

American Planning Association, Vol. 60, No. 2: 147.

2.Bullard, Robert D. 1993. "Anatomy of Environmental Racism and the Environmental

Justice Movement," Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots.

R. Bullard, ed. Boston: South End Press

3.Dear, Michael. 1992. "Understanding and Overcoming the NIMBY Syndrome,"

Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer: 288

4.Kaufman, Jerome L. 1980. "Land Planning in an Ethical Perspective," Journal of

Soil and Water Conservation, November-December: 258