Over the course of my four years at Goshen College, I have redeclared my major four separate times. One might imagine a student like me as the Goldilocks of liberal arts education, seeking the perfect balance of knowledge and applied learning to satisfy my youthful pursuit of learning as much as possible. Although inconvenient for myself and Registrar (I appreciate you, Kristin Waltner), I have found the benefit of experiencing an array of disciplines to be rather imperative in my discovery of my fifth and final major, sustainability. Luckily for me, there is enough overlap in applicable credits from my previous majors that I will graduate sometime within the next decade.
It was not until this first semester as a sustainability major that I was able to pinpoint the singular facet of my undergraduate education that has principally defined and encompassed the entirety of my undergraduate knowledge; the ethical implications of environmental racism and justice.Environmental justice, as defined by the American Public Health Association, “is the idea that all people and communities have the right to live and thrive in safe, healthy environments with equal environmental protections and meaningful involvement in these actions.”
Similarly, but not equivalent, is the concept of environmental racism. The term environmental racism was coined in a jail cell by civil rights leader Rev. Dr Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr, after he was arrested at a protest in 1982, when it was announced that the state government intended to dump toxic soil in Warren County, North Carolina – a county of which he would later refer to as “[the] most predominantly Black [county]” out of the 100 counties in North Carolina, 40 years ago. According to the Reverend in a 2022 lecture, “ [environmental racism is] racial discrimination in the deliberate 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.”
Note that the definition of environmental justice explicitly involves the inclusion of all community members as stakeholders in their environment, and the explicit exclusion of these communities in the definition of environmental racism.
The reality is that we exist in a time where minority populations experience disproportionately more environmental injustice than justice, environmental racism is no longer acknowledged in legislation, and these patterns have been perpetuated for far longer than the terminology has existed. These harmful realities are closer to home than we may even realize. Remember Flint, Michigan? It is imperative that we: you, me, our neighbors, and federal and local governments take initiative to encourage reparations and seek out balance in our relationship with both the earth, and our kin, for the sake of our own shared humanity and the wellbeing of the planet.
As Potawatomi scholar Kyle Powys Whyte notes about environmental injustice from an Indigenous perspective, “environmental justice cuts at the fabric of systems of responsibilities that connect [nonhuman] people to humans, nonhumans and ecosystems. Environmental injustice can be seen as an affront to peoples’ capacities to experience themselves in the world as having responsibilities for the upkeep, or continuance, of their societies…”
We each carry our own chemical body burden within us, residual toxins existing within our bodies. Some, particularly those most affected by environmental racism, carry much heavier burdens than others. It is our responsibility as profiteers of polluting industries, and kin to our neighbors, to acknowledge these disparities and work towards environmental justice, of which I will offer my opinion and suggestions for below, as a self-designated amateur environmental ethicist.
Under the current administration (my peer, Jacob Dixon, wrote an opinion piece about in the Jan. 16 issue of The Record if you are interested in learning more about the implications of the current political climate on environmental legislation), most existing legislative protections, established for the purpose of combating the injustice caused by industrialization and environmental racism, are no longer admissible. The termination of the Environmental Justice and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion arms of the Environmental Protections Agency, in addition to the termination of a number of historic actions taken to protect the rights of the historically oppressed, has left entire populations without the protections that marginalized communities have sacrificed immensely to establish for future generations.
In spite of the current state of politics within the United States, humanity has proven time and time again that the determination of the human spirit to persevere and overcome is far more powerful than any given generation’s imbalance of justice. Whether it be the rage of those who have lived to witness generations of oppression, the love of determined parents to create a more just future for their children or the passionate hopefulness of the younger generation, the soul and courage of oppressed peoples to fight against injustice and establish balance to systems that have never known equality lives on.
By and large, the greater majority of the people doing the work to combat these systemic injustices have been those directly affected by environmental injustice. Two years after the Flint water crisis began, an artist by the name of Latoya Ruby Frazier moved to the city to live alongside and document the reality of the city’s residents while the rest of the country turned the other way. Frazier grew up in a town heavily impacted by environmental racism and was no stranger to the negligence of the American government to aid and assist in the reparations work. She remained in Flint for six months, and created a photo essay and film titled “Flint is Family,” using her art as a vessel for justice that has been recognized within her biography as one of Times most 100 Influential People. Her work, in addition to the work of numerous Flint residents and advocates, paved the way for a complete transition of the city’s water system and a $600 million settlement for those affected by the water crisis.
It is not often enough that environmental justice is sufficiently obtained, but it is those who were born into the fight, or recognize the injustice experienced by their neighbors, that have gradually dismembered the systemic barriers that limit the possibility for change. The communities that persevere in their pursuit of justice during times of environmental injustice, such as the residents of Flint during the water crisis, the commitment of parents in Love Canal during the hazardous-waste crisis, the Apache Stronghold in their fight to protect their sacred lands, or the determination of the residents of East Los-Angeles to shut down a toxic-waste incinerator discovered in their neighborhood, are more than enough proof that environmental justice is an attainable, worthy pursuit (in case you needed further proof as to just how powerful collective human willpower truly is).
The fight for environmental justice and equity cannot continue to be the sole burden of those directly affected by environmental racism. The responsibility to create the necessary reparations falls directly upon each of us and it must happen now, if you have not already begun. In doing so, we are committing ourselves to the reparation of relationships with our local environments and community, actively combatting the climate crisis through the expulsion of harmful industries and practices, and setting the framework for more inclusive and equitable legislation.
In conjunction with the undeniable influence of human determination, we must also believe in our individual capacity to be vessels of a more just society. You have the ability to be a catalyst for change, if you believe that you have the power, built through relationships with those around you and your environment, to speak up, even as your voice shakes (as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in so many words). If at this point you are scoffing at my words and thinking that I’m oversimplifying what is obviously an incredibly complex concept – hear me out.
From my perspective as a woman of color and passionate environmentalist living in today’s day and age, it is incredibly intimidating and feels like an impossible fight for approximately 22 out of every 24 hours in a day . However, within those two hour increments, (usually after I have eaten a good meal)between classes and with the wisdom acquired from those in my community, I have compiled a framework for what I hope may be a helpful next step towards your own action plan and ethical evaluation of environmental justice.
First and foremost, it starts on an individual level. You must be stubborn. This is very important. We have been in the fight for generations. It is not easy by any means, but it will not be the well-intentioned person quietly observing in the corner who raises their voice high enough to change the trajectory of the status quo. Educate yourself on your community and local environmental inequities. If you are a local government official, be attentive to the systems that you profit from and consider the members of your community of whom you subconsciously categorize as obstructors of “justice.” If you are in the medical field, become aware of the quality of your local environment and familiarize yourself with the communities that live near your local industrial parks and factories. Encourage patients to keep track of the medical expenses with ties to their home environment and attempt to treat the root of the issue, not just the symptoms that are presenting themselves. Evaluate the implications of your daily life from the perspective of an amateur environmental ethicist.
Secondly, push yourself to build relationships within your community and take action on a local level. If you are in the medical field and enough of your patients are able to provide documentation proving illness as a result of hazardous environmental exposure, a community initiative may be a tangible option. On a more general level, building relationships with the community around you may be the most significant piece of the process. Learn to listen. You are not alone in your commitment to combating environmental injustice and there is power in numbers.
And to my final point, work alongside your neighbors to engage the government on a local and national level. It has been done before and it can be done again. Sign petitions, contact your local representatives, and if you are able, do so loudly.
Regardless of your age, I hope that you may also consider the implications of environmental racism and find the courage within yourself to shoulder the burden of a reality that disproportionately affects members of each of our communities.
For every executive order that sets us back a decade in time, I choose to believe that there are twice as many good people in the world who are determined to fight for the wellbeing of the earth and all of its kin.
