Sustainability is a Race Issue, Too
As with so many other problems we face, environmentalism is intersectional
Photo via Pexels
The past few weeks have done a lot to shed light on the racial disparities that exist in our society. And as some of the systemic dirty laundry airs out, it gives way to further and deeper disparities. It’s easy to rabbit hole yourself in readings and documentaries to see just how foundational racism has been to our establishment. I wanted to highlight one issue that I’m learning a bit about this week, though to call it “one issue” does a huge disservice to those affected.
One of the most important issues of our time is sustainability. The looming catastrophe of climate change is always on our minds as young people concerned about the future of our planet. Another issue that continues to cause our society problems is the issue of human rights. And with emotions as heightened as they are now, I think it’s important to remember that, at the intersection of sustainability and human rights, there exists a very specific problem.
How I got here.
One of my passions is sustainable and ethical fashion. Over the past few years I have dedicated a lot of time and research into learning about how to make sustainably and ethically conscious shopping choices.
My journey away from the woes of fast fashion and into a more sustainability-focused life has lead me to following lots of Instagram accounts for organizations that champion the notion of slow fashion. One of my favorites is Pittsburgh-based Style412, a non-profit dedicated to evolving the Pittsburgh fashion community, who recently shared this post on their Instagram:
The post, originally made by @jhanneu, highlights an issue that I thought I knew a lot about, but I wanted to learn more. I did some digging and researched the things I didn’t know about to highlight and share with you as we pull the veil back even further to see how deeply rooted racism and segregation are in our society and how they affect generations of Americans.
Let’s start with some history.
Housing segregation was a part of Jim Crow era laws, ending in 1968 with the Fair Housing Act. Housing segregation meant that black and brown people in the U.S. could legally be kept out of renting or buying property, while white people were given opportunities and options to build equity and, thus wealth, effectively locking generations of Black Americans out at the same time. For a quick breakdown of how this works, check out this clip from Adam Ruins Everything:
If you’re looking for more information about Levittown and all of it’s associated problems, I recommend listening to S1E3 of Nice Try! (also, just listen to the whole season of Nice Try! because I love it so much).
Environmental Racism
Nowadays, the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the black, brown and low-income communities that came out of the redlining.
“‘Environmental racism’ describes the fact that people of color and low-income people are most likely to be situated near sources of contamination and away from clean water, air, and soil” (source). Probably the most infamous example of environmental racism in recent history is the story of Flint, MI, where water contamination has disproportionately affected a majority black community in a majority white state since 2014.
And what’s true now has been true for decades. A 1987 report by the United Church of Christ shows that “race was the most significant predictor of a person living near hazardous waste” (source). These communities face, and often fight, water pollutants, air pollutants, and hazardous waste from landfills. These issues are historically embedded in the communities they affect and do generational damage by causing health problems for the people in those communities.
One Step Further
Communities that are plagued with pollution are often found to have widespread respiratory diseases due to to inhalation of endotoxin, microorganisms, and aerosols (source). And, “people of color in the US are also exposed to a 38% higher level of nitrogen dioxide, on average, than white people,” because of exhaust from power plants. Nitrogen dioxide is linked to respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis. (source)
“Chronic respiratory diseases make daily life harder and shortens life spans. Children are especially susceptible; air pollution exposure has been shown to cause cognitive delays in children, and when expecting mothers are subjected to air pollution, it increases their child’s risk for early birth and low birth weight, both of which risk for impaired brain development down the road.” (source)
It’s easy to see how racist decisions made in our past have left members of our population vulnerable to chronic illness, which leads to cognitive development problems for children and leaves adults unable to afford their medical care.
We are dealing with a reckoning in this country and across the world. For years, the issues of human rights have been vocalized, then seemingly solved only to come back again in a new form. Jim Crow era laws that are officially off the books live on in the form of the prison industrial complex, housing segregation, and environmental racism. Of course, there are communities who know this reality all too well, but these things finally seem to be coming to light for the rest of our society, and I have hope that these realizations will bring forward real and lasting change.
I still have a lot to learn, but we can’t waste time feeling shame from our miseducation. It was built into the system. We need to focus now on our own self-education because, armed with knowledge, we can be part of charge that is leading our society to a more equitable future.
One more thing:
It’s been a big week for resources, reading lists, and graphics on Instagram. Well here is one more to help you organize your self-education. Lots of great tactics here: