M3.3 Environmental Justice

Overall, minorities are usually at a disadvantage in many aspects in our society. Environmental injustice is another way in which people belonging to minority communities are at a disadvantage that affects their health. It's sad to think that we actually need summits like the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in order to address issues that should not have existed in the first place. Reading the article "8 Horrifying Examples of Corporations Mistreating Black Communities with Environmental Racism" hit (almost literally) close to home. I lived in Richmond, California for a couple of years when I was a teenager, and one of the "8 examples" was the Chevron refinery in this city. Being in a community composed predominantly of African Americans and other minorities, this refinery has been in operation for many decades and thus exposing this population to many harmful chemicals. This makes me think about the many chemicals that I have unknowingly been exposed to as a teenager and how many of them persist in my body. Definitely a scary thought.

Comments

  1. USF MPH ClassSeptember 11, 2018 at 4:46 PM

    Scary, huh? What are we do to though? I struggle with this. For Richmond and Martinez, we need the refinery around the Bay area. Should we just make those near by areas to the refinery uninhabitable per law. Then the land owners would have a fit, we need land for housing. Where does the domino effect end?

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  2. Sandy TanSeptember 16, 2018 at 2:42 PM

    Hi Hugo,
    I agree with you that it is sad, and beyond frustrating, that minority communities need to have summits and other movements as well to tell the majority that their communities matter just as well. Minority communities should not have to say that they have the same rights to live their healthy lives, but in reality, institutional racism still exist. Which is why we still need summits and other movements to call out racism and other discriminatory acts.

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