Racism in the Environment

"Race is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country"

Where we live, work and play is a big determinant of our health. However, we often don't get to choose where we live. Factors like structural racism, housing inequalities, and redlining have historically prevented many communities of color from accessing safe, healthy and affordable neighborhoods.

• More than 50% of people who live within 1.86 miles of toxic waste facilities in the United States are People of Color

• People of Color are 2X more likely to live within a fenceline zone on an industrial facility

• Ancestral Native American Lands are being used for transporting and dumping toxic wastes

People of Color have fought against environmental racism since the 80s but the term 'environmentalists' has largely been associated with and celebrated by and for white people.

"Environmental racism is the deliberated targeting of ethnic and minority communities for exposure to toxic and hazardous waste sites and facilities, coupled with the systematic exclusion of minorities in environmental policy making, enforcement, and remediation." - Benjamin Chavis, African-American Civil Rights Leader

For the past four decades, the face of the environmental movement has been white. The people who have historically been fighting for environmental laws, regulations, and policies have been the people who already hold decision making power and privileged identities that benefit from the systems of oppression that cause these environmental health disparities. This same system that enables white people to become scientists, policy-makers, and educators also creates multi layer economic and social barriers for people of color that prevent them from leading in environmental movements despite being the ones most disproportionately impacted by them.