Environmental racism has been an ongoing issue in our society for more than half a century now. The term “environmental racism” was coined in 1982 by Benjamin Chavis. Chavis was a civil rights activist. It is a product of systematic racism, that communities of color are unfortunately faced with because of their low economic standing. Fortunately, I grew up in a well off area and never was faced with injustices like this. After looking more in depth at what environmental racism is, I feel the obligation to advocate for change.
This form of racial discrimination has brought along multiple problems with it. Whether it be health problems among the community, food insecurity, or living near a landfill, this is one nationwide issue that needs to be addressed. Globalization can also be accredited for environmental racism as well.
Environmental racism is the evil baby of bad policy-making and regulations that allow for low income communities and ones of color to suffer from this injustice. Policy makers believe that just because a community has a background of low economic standing and color that they can just throw a hazard waste site, power plants, and mines around these types of communities. They believe that people of color have no say in these types of developments because they come from a low income community, which is not fair.
A prime example of environmental racism is the Flint, Michigan water crisis which I’m sure my audience knows about. This problem went on for half a decade, where policy makers and government officials ignored the fact that a community in their state was suffering from unsafe drinking water. If Flint happened to be a white rich and prosperous community, this issue would have been resolved within months. The fact that Flint is a community of color and low income made these decision makers feel differently about the situation. This crisis happened because the city decided to switch their water supply to the Flint River for a more cost effective solution. This solution obviously didn’t end up well, considering that the water of the Flint River wasn’t adequately tested nor treated to be coined as “clean drinking water.” After so many months of being broadcasted nationwide on the news, the Flint water crisis eventually lost traction from mass media outlets. I’m sure plenty of people believed that the problem was resolved after media coverage stopped covering the crisis. Environmental justice issues like this need to be put in the face of every American to make them realize the disparity these communities of color and low income go through on a daily basis.
Another big factor in environmental racism is food insecurity. Some may think that being food insecure is the same as hunger, but it’s not. The USDA’s definition of food insecurity is “a lack of consistent access to enough food for a healthy life.” In one article I read from the University of Michigan, the author states that in 2018 11 percent of homes in America experienced food insecurity. In areas of low income, there usually aren’t any healthy markets or grocery stores. Which leaves the community usually eating unhealthy foods like fast food. When families within the community are at risk of being food insecure, they have double the chances of getting diabetes. Most of the food being sold in these lower income communities is cheap, filled with calories, and has no nutritional value.
This is just another example of the different types of systematic racism that is occurring in this country. It is the policy makers and government leaders who have the ability to help solve this problem but the only thing they are doing is ignoring it. Environmental racism has put so many communities in danger of health risks, COVID-19, and food insecurity. This is the reason why people of color are disproportionately more vulnerable to illness and death. This country needs to take this issue and advocate for change. So the government officials and policy makers feel the pressure to act on the issue. The EPA is the key government agency that deals with redefining environment racism in our country, but I believe that they need to gain nationwide support by all respected officials and policy makers to solve this issue.
