-Robert D. Bullard
When reflecting on the racism embedded in both the government and society as a whole, environmental racism is not the first thing that comes to mind, nor is it likely the second or the third. Environmental issues affect everything from quality of life to health to beautification of the neighborhood and the respect gained through this. The negligence and blind-eye turned to these issues highlights the subtle ways the government undermines those it values less.
The effects of environmental racism has historically been traced across America and especially the South.
Some of these effects have included a increased chance of lead poisoning in African American communities, the building of landfills near minority areas instead of distributing evenly across a city, or the prioritizing of areas and issues that affect more affluent populations.
This leads to Proctor Creek. The neighborhoods surrounding Proctor Creek have traditionally been African American. The creek had historically held a role in the surrounding communities, from the recreational use for fishing and swimming to baptisms, but the pollution that began accumulating prevented these activities. The citizens turned to Mayor Ivan Allen.
"Beautification is our business." This was the motto used by the Parks Department during this period as they worked to make the city more beautiful through projects such as the hiring of a new aborist to help with the planting and pruning of trees around the city.
This letter to the right dated Decmeber 1, 1969, taken from box 1, folder 21, document 59 in the Ivan Allen Digital Archive, is a response from Mr Delius to a Miss Kelley on a request for "the more planting of grass" for "temporary beautification" in Southeast Corner of North Highland, N.E. and Washita Avenue, N.E..
The General Manager of Parks and Recreation denined her request, stressing that "Beautification is our business, but I say to you in all sincerity that you can stretch only so thin and I am afriad we have reached that point."
The stress that "beautification is our business" reflects the department's neglectance of the other aspects of their business, such as attending to environmental concerns and seeing to the parks and other natural recreation areas around the city, such as Proctor Creek.
There is something to be said for what is not said. Regardless of the numerous reports and letters sent from the residents of the Proctor Creek watershed, the Mayor turned his attention to what the city regarded as more urgent matters, such as changing the landscaping surrounding trees from brick to gravel.
Taken from box 13, folder 11, document 25 of the Ivan Allen Digital Archive, the letter to the left is the response to Mayor Ivan Allen from Jack Delius, the General Manager of Parks and Recreation, in regards to the mayor's passing of the request of a "Mr. Francis M. Young." Mr. Young was concerned with the possibility that the bricks surrounding the trees could be "used as ammunition in the event of a riot." This concern follows the previous Summerhill Riots of 1966. This correspondence shows the surprisingly wide-ranging influence of these events of “urban unrest” on the city’s management as suddenly a landscaping detail is reimagined as a potential armory in a “race riot.”
Mr. Delius found that the request to re-base 71 trees from across the downtown area reasonable, except for four trees with larger bricks that "someone has apparently gone to considerable expense having them placed there". These aesthetically complex brick bases would supposedly be left in place.
This landscaping crusade is simultaneous with months of the residents of Proctor Creek petitioning multiple city departments and the mayor himself to address the issues posed by the creek, including flooding, disease, and children drowning.
One of the concerns surrounding the creek was the newly built Gun Club Park, which was established in the late 1960s and would be decommissioned in the early 2000s. Proctor Creek served as the boundary between the park and the newly built Perry Homes project housing. Concerns regarding access to the park had begun to accumulate, as the community did not have direct access to the park and officials and residents alike expressed concern "that many of the children will attempt to ford the creek" and subsequently drown. There appears to have been open communication about this, and while everyone agreed that a lack of a footbridge posed a danger to the children of the community, there were disputes about funding. There needed to be a footbridge connecting the new park and Perry Homes. This footbridge would be a small but vital piece of infrastructure connecting a disenfranchised community of color to an important recreational amenity. The issue was who would be paying for it.
The letter to the left is correspondence between Mr. Gilbert H. Boggs, Director of Housing, and Mr. Jack C. Delius, General Manager of Parks and Recreation. The letter from Mr. Delius questions what progress the Housing Department has made on the footbridge as the Parks and Recreation Department wishes to continue onward with the construction of the Gun Club Park.
The two documents below dicuss how the different departments will be paying and budgeting out costs for the foot bridge.
