The Great Unequalizer: Environmental Racism
Yousuf Munir
There are always people who argue that the Climate Crisis and the disasters that come with it are the great equalizers of our generation. Luckily for American society, however, we never fail to prove that we can create systems of oppression in great times of crisis; in this case, America is suffering from environmental racism. Environmental racism can be defined as “environmental risks [being] allocated disproportionately along the lines of race, often without the input of the affected communities of color”. In fact, it has gotten to the point that even the Trump administration’s EPA has found that environmental racism is alive and well, and that factories and fracking efforts are more likely to be found in communities of color.
Like other systems of oppression, environmental racism is the result of capitalism and corporate greed, and poison our most vulnerable communities and cause them to feel the intense effects of the Climate Crisis. And it’s not just Flint, Michigan, that is being poisoned, it’s communities in Ohio that are only a few minutes from wealthy, white, and pristine suburbia.
One of the oldest housing projects in Cincinnati, Winton Terrace, is a community being drastically impacted by the Climate Crisis and capitalism. Winton Terrace is directly opposite the 6 combined industrial plants, one of which is owned by Prtocter and Gamble, that are responsible for “38 percent of all the toxic air emissions released in Cincinnati”. These toxic emissions are poisoning the residents of Winton Terrace. These toxic emissions are poisoning the 85% Black population of Winton Terrace by increasing their risk for lung cancer, increasing rates of infant mortality, and resulting in Winton Hills having one of the highest rates of asthma hospitalization in Hamilton County. In short, these big corporations and their factories are slowly killing an entire Black community without any repercussions.
Another community, Youngstown. Population: 41% Black, 11% Hispanic. Another community completely screwed over by environmental racism and corporate greed. In Youngstown’s case, it is a community suffering from the effects of intense fracking by companies like Marcellus Shale. Fracking in Youngstown is tied to the increasing number of earthquakes, increased risk for cancer and anxiety, and other disastrous effects. Youngstown is just another example of corporations taking advantage of the government’s indifference to Black and brown lives, another example of how much the system demands Black and brown lives as a human sacrifice for the benefit of the wealthy and white elite.
And there should be no doubt that big corporations, like Procter and Gamble, who poison the residents of Winton Terrace, like Marcellus Shale, who poison the residents of Youngstown, know that they can get away with poisoning Black and brown communities. Because these big corporations know that the entire system is designed to serve and protect them. Because these big corporations know Ohio doesn’t care about people lucky enough to have been born with some melanin.
However, we owe it to ourselves and to the Black and brown people who are already dying because of the climate crisis not to give up the fight because the situation is far from hopeless. There is simply too much at risk to be sucked into the pit of despair that is constantly surrounding us, and we have the rare opportunity to build a diverse movement that represents the people most affected by the climate crisis. We have the chance to fight to end environmental racism and create a new America that truly represents the American people, and not just the wealthy, white elite. That is the vision Ohio Youth Climate Strike is here to fight for, and we will continue to fight for it until we have achieved. So the question I have left to ask you is, will you join us?
Yousuf is a young activist involved with many causes, including climate change, gun sense laws, and lowering the voting age to 16. He is the founder of RYSE.16, a organization dedicated to lowering the voting age to 16 in Cincinnati, and a member of Young Activists Coalition. He is going into his senior year at Walnut Hills High School. He hopes that in 12 years climate change won’t make it impossible to wear sweaters.
