By: Jesi Taylor Cruz & Shayna Robbins
May 26, 2020
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the recent dam failures in Michigan increased the risk of local water contamination given the proximity of local rivers to the region’s Dow Chemical plant. Further, the Guardian reported that the plant is responsible for past instances of releasing toxic chemicals into the environment that “cause reproductive harm and cancer.”
To better understand the intersecting causes of the dam failure, it is necessary to contextualize the event within a long history of structural violence and environmental injustice that has disproportionately impacted…
