Dr. Martin Luther King and the Quest for Environmental Justice
It goes without saying that environmental issues and social issues go hand in hand. As I mentioned in a previous post on world hunger, you can’t expect someone to worry about choosing a CFL bulb when they are trying to figure out where to get their next meal. Ditto goes for the woman who is being abused by her husband, the man who can’t get health care because he doesn’t have insurance, or the child who’s getting bullied at school.
Even more disturbing are the cases where environmental justice is in question, or more precisely, where environmental racism, is occurring. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s support of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike may well have been the first campaign to bring environmental justice issues into the limelight. But don’t be fooled into thinking that environmental racism is a thing of the past. Unfortunately, as green goes mainstream, some less-than-reputable companies are simply moving their environmental damage into poorer communities where they know they will face less opposition.
Take, for example, the case of a recently proposed liquefied natural gas facility in which the company proposed to add 7 miles to their pipeline so that it would not affect the wealthy community in Malibu, CA. Instead, this pipeline would bring its air and water pollution to the low-income, farm-based community of Oxnard, CA.
Fortunately, Dr. King’s legacy of fighting for environmental and social justice found a champion in 16 year old Erica Fernandez. Upon learning about the proposed plant, this young eco-hero went door to door to rally her community to fight it. Thanks to Erica, 3000 people attended the town meeting to discuss the LNG project. And Erica and her community continued the fight all the way to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s doorstep, where the LNG plant was final
ly defeated.
Erica Fernandez won a Brower Youth Award for her actions to protect the environment and her community. Here’s an excerpt from her acceptance speech:
“I was born and raised almost all my life in Mexico, surrounded by the beauty of nature. But when I arrived here to the United States, everything I (saw), was cars and pollution… I could not accept any more pollution… I wanted to be the voice for those who thought they didn’t have one; I wanted to be the hope for those who believed there was no way we could stop BHP Billiton; I wanted to be the inspiration for those who believe a person can make a difference; I wanted to be heard, and I was heard. And for that, I thank my community for teaching me a life lesson: a united community is more powerful than money.”
Sounds like Erica Fernandez has a dream…let’s just hope there’s lots more like her.
What can you do about environmental racism?
- Be on the lookout for environmental racism, both in your community and in nearby neighborhoods. Check out the Environmental Justice Scorecard to get a better idea of the distribution of environmental burdens in your community.
- If you think environmental racism is occurring in your community, contact your local Sierra Club. And while your there, check out check out the projects they already have underway to fight for environmental justice throughout the U.S.
How cool that a teenager was able to rally her community like that… that’s impressive. It is terribly tragic that Dr. King was assassinated during the Mempis strike. Great post!