Environmental Racism, Fueling Toxic Exposure and Increasing the Burden of Disease Among Michigan's Communities of Color

Environmental Racism, Fueling Toxic Exposure and Increasing the Burden of Disease Among Michigan's Communities of Color By Jonathan Sharp

 

Due to past racial segregation, the inaccessibility of affordable land, and lack of political power to fight corporations, many communities of color are stuck living near pollution hotspots such as landfills, industrial facilities, airports, truck routes, incinerators, and military bases. This is a phenomenon known as environmental racism and affects numerous Black and Hispanic people across the country. As a result of residing close to sources of toxic exposure, these vulnerable communities have a significantly greater burden of disease than the general population. For instance, Black individuals have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers, whereas cancer is the leading cause of death among Hispanic people, accounting for 20% of deaths. While there are other factors contributing to these unsettling statistics, environmental racism also plays a role.

 

The form of segregation that haunts communities to this day was known as redlining and it was historically used as a tool of discrimination and oppression which prevented communities from enjoying equitable access to housing, healthcare, educational, and employment opportunities. Redlining is so deeply entrenched; its effects of systematic discrimination continue after 94 years in the form of health disparities and wealth inequalities. The term originated from the practice of banks who used red lines to separate neighborhoods that were deemed ‘too risky’ for investment. Without access to mortgage financing, Black and Hispanic families were forced to live in areas with limited resources and poor infrastructure, leading to a greater concentration of minorities in less desirable areas. The state-sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation first organized and institutionalized this practice by using four color-codes who allegedly reflected the worthiness of locals, based on arbitrary and unjust factors. As part of this common pattern in the U.S., the communities of color in New Jersey were forced to live near sources of pollution such as industrial sites, military facilities,and other unfavorable areas such as airports and highways. This practice has caused disproportionate exposure of Black and Hispanic communities to environmental hazards, with effects that persist to the present day.

 

Drinking Water Contaminated with "Forever Chemicals" Increases Cancer Risk in Communities of Color Residing Near Military Bases

 

Also known as PFAS or "forever chemicals" because of their ability to persist in the environment and the human body for a long time, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are now present in the bloodstream of up to 97% of Americans. They have become ubiquitous due to their many uses, and on military facilities, these harmful substances are released by firefighters using AFFF, a fire suppressant containing PFAS in a concentration between 50% and 98%. Since "forever chemicals" are possible human carcinogens, exposure can be responsible for potentially fatal illnesses, such as kidney, testicular, and prostate cancer. 

 

A recent study by Harvard University found that PFAS detection was positively associated with the number of these chemicals' sources and proportions of residents of color who are served by a water system. Each industrial facility, airport, and military fire training area in a community water system's watershed was linked to a 10% to 108% increase in PFOA and a 20% to 34% increase in PFOS in drinking water. As two of the most dangerous substances from the "forever chemicals" class, PFOA and PFOS are also some of the most studied agents. However, PFAS refer to nearly 15,000 different substances.

 

New Jersey is part of EPA’s Superfund mission to clean the nation’s most contaminated land. The state is home to a staggering 115 Superfund sites and a few examples can give you an idea about the scale of the contamination. With 264,000 parts per trillion, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst exceeds the ‘safe’ exposure limit of PFAS by a whopping 66,000 times. Located in Egg Harbor Township and serving central and southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, Atlantic City International Airport has recorded a level of 87,250 ppt, which is 21,800 times over the limit. Another PFAS hotspot is The Naval Warfare Center Trenton, located in Ewing Township. The site has recorded a level of 27,800, which is lower than the others but still holds significant health risks due to its proximity to the surrounding communities and high toxicity of PFAS even at low levels.

There is a historically strong demographic presence of Hispanics and people of color around the PFAS hotspots. In the communities surrounding Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Atlantic City International Airport, and The Naval Warfare Center Trenton, Hispanic and Black people make up 56.80%, 24.20%, and 37.80% of the total population. Located to the southeast of Atlantic City, Pleasantville represents an example of the demographic reality, with Black and Hispanics comprising 50% of its population. Due to historical and environmental factors, PFAS will only worsen the communities’ decades-long health challenges, considering their susceptibility to the highly toxic PFAS.

 

Achieving Environmental Justice – An Uphill Battle for Communities of Color

 

Undoubtedly, combating environmental injustice is going to be a very challenging endeavor for Black and Hispanic communities. The status quo is unnerving, as it is actually cheaper for a corporation to pollute communities of color than white communities. Although corporations will receive a fine if they violate environmental laws, the fines tend to be lower in communities of color, particularly Black and low-income communities. Nevertheless, using a combination of grassroots activism and collaboration with private law firms might turn out to be effective in deterring corporations and government entities from polluting communities of color.

 

About the Author

 

Jonathan Sharp is Chief Financial Officer at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the law firm assists individuals and communities affected by toxic exposure. Jonathan Sharp is responsible for the management of firm assets, case evaluation, and financial analysis.

NAACP sues Trump for failing to prepare to count minorities in 2020 census

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), America’s largest and original legacy civil rights organization, together with Prince George’s County, Maryland, the NAACP Prince George’s County Branch and two county residents, sued the federal government today to combat the imminent threat that the 2020 Census will substantially undercount African Americans and other people of color in communities throughout the United States causing inequalities in political representation and deficiencies in federal funding of those communities.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, seeks to compel the Bureau of the Census, an agency within the Department of Commerce, to prepare for and conduct a full and fair Census in 2020, as the U.S. Constitution expressly requires. “The NAACP is committed to ensuring that the 2020 Census does not systematically undercount communities having large African-American populations, such as inner-city neighborhoods, while substantially overcounting communities that are less racially diverse,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO. “The Census must not serve as a mechanism for diluting the political power of African-American communities and depriving them of their fair share of federal resources for an entire decade,” he added. “We are prepared to fight against any plan that effectively turns the census into another form of voter suppression and economic disempowerment in our communities.”

The U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to conduct an “actual enumeration” of the U.S. population every ten years. Census results serve as the basis for apportioning congressional seats to each state, redrawing legislative district lines at both the federal and state level and enforcing voting rights laws. The federal government also uses Census data to distribute billions of dollars to local, state and tribal governments.

The 2020 Census, however, remains inadequately funded. The Census Bureau is understaffed, and is emphasizing processes that will only serve to increase undercounts in communities of color. The Bureau has no permanent leadership in place to direct the count, and to make matters worse, the Bureau has cancelled crucial pre-Census field tests and is rushing to digitize the Census without adequate cybersecurity protections, thus undermining public confidence in the privacy of Census data and threatening to inflate the undercount. Further still, the Bureau plans to devote insufficient resources to community partnerships, door-to-door canvassing and other processes designed to encourage communities of color to participate in the Census.

The issues facing the 2020 Census have already caused the Government Accountability Office to label it a “high risk program.” Prince George’s County has acutely felt the harmful effects of past Census undercounts. The county, which has a majority African-American population, suffered a 2.3 percent net undercount in the 2010 Census—the largest net undercount of any county in Maryland, and one of the largest of any county in the nation.

“An accurate census count is critical to the federal funding, political representation, and operations of Prince George’s County,” said Prince George’s County, MD, Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. “We must not be undercounted again like we have been over the past 30 years. On behalf of the 900,000 residents of Prince George’s County, I am proud that we are standing and fighting alongside the NAACP to make sure our County gets treated fairly and equally under the law. A vast majority of the residents of Prince George’s County are members of this nation’s historically disenfranchised populations. We cannot let this continue in 2018, 2020, or any year moving forward. This lawsuit will help protect future generations of systemic under-resourcing from our federal government.”

Bob Ross, president of the NAACP Prince George’s County Branch and a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, agrees that an ill-prepared Census hurts his community in several ways.“When the Census Bureau undercounts my community, we lose political power, and fewer of our federal tax dollars end up coming home to fix our roads, run our schools, and fund our federal programs,” said Ross. “We felt these effects in the aftermath of the 2010 Census, and all signs indicate that the 2020 Census will be even worse.”

“The priorities embraced by the Bureau for the 2020 Census threaten to worsen substantially the undercount of communities of color that occurred in the 2000 and 2010 censuses,” said Charlotte Schwartz, a Law Student Intern with Yale Law School’s Rule of Law Clinic, which represents the plaintiffs.

This lawsuit is not the first time the NAACP has taken legal action related to the 2020 Census. In October of 2017, the NAACP, NAACP Connecticut Conference and NAACP Boston Branch filed suit under the Freedom of Information of Act to compel the Commerce Department to produce documents about preparations for the 2020 Census. That suit is ongoing. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are represented by the Rule of Law Clinic at Yale Law School, Jenner & Block, and the NAACP Office of the General Counsel. The Rule of Law Clinic also represents the plaintiffs in the pending Freedom of Information Act case.

ABOUT THE NAACP:

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting NAACP.org. To become a member of the NAACP, and part of the solution, visit: http://www.naacp.org/membership/.

President Obama My Brothers Keeper Video: The Potential Of Boys Of Color

President Obama reaffirms the potential of boys of color in a My Brothers Keeper PSA that aired during the MTV Movie Awards. Watch the inspiring video below. Learn more about the My Brother's Keeper Alliance at http://www.mbkalliance.org/

Push to Recruit Black, Latino Nurses

Arihanna Venable enjoys talking with her patients as she performs physical exams, takes their blood pressure and, sometimes administers medicine to help soothe wounds or illnesses.

However, when Venable looks at so many other registered nurses, she finds a glaring and often troubling trend.

“Not many of them look like me,” said Venable, 33, of Southeast. “We just don’t have a lot of black registered nurses and I think if we can somehow change that, a lot of our patients will feel more at ease and they’ll be more likely to come in and see a doctor before they encounter serious health problems.”

Venable counts among the 5.4 percent of African-American nurses in the nation. A small minority, considering there’s an estimated 2.5 million registered nurses in the United States. Latinos also are in the minority as just 3.6 percent hold those positions.

Read more: Push to Recruit Black, Latino Nurses