FACES of Environmental Justice

“The modern Environmental Justice Movement would not be what it is today if it were not for the African Americans who helped shape it. African Americans have been fighting for decades, from sparking the modern Environmental Justice Movement, to conducting key research on environmental pollution, to founding countless grassroots organizations, their legacy is undeniable” Eddie Junsay -350.org — The Environmental Justice Movement is Rooted in Black History.

Never Surrender — The fight for environmental justice in Bayview — Hunters Point, San Francisco is a documentary film that is the result of over two years of research and field work conducted by M. Reza Shirazi, urbanist and researcher in sustainable urban development at the Oxford Brookes University. Shirazi was awarded the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship at UC Berkeley Institute of Urban and Regional Development. He is principal investigator for the EU-funded research project “(Un)Just Neighborhoods: Socio-Spatial Justice in Urban Neighbourhoods.”

Civil rights attorney Abre’ Conner and the Moms Clean Air Force explain why environmental protections are important to Black History Month in the Huffington Post. “If Black history is indeed American history, the importance of the Environmental Protection Agency as it relates to Black people should resonate to all people.”

The first major study of segregation and pollution in America was conducted in 1987 by the Commission for Racial Justice. Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States showed race is the major variable in where toxic waste facilities are sited. People of color comprise 57% of residents living within a two mile radius of hazardous waste sites and 60% of residents living…