What is environmental racism? Environmental racism refers to the disproportionate burden on minority neighborhoods from air and water borne hazards that impact their quality of life and health outcomes.
Rooted in racial discrimination and a lack of political power and voice, environmental racism continues to drive the systemic segregation of minority communities.
Impact Overwhelmingly, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities bear the burden of environmental racism.
Limited by government and industrial policies, minority communities are compromised by poor environmental quality as well as a lack of opportunities for social mobility and jobs, thereby segregating minority groups from their white counterparts.
For example, irrespective of socioeconomic status, race continues to be the most pertinent predictor of the location of commercial hazardous waste facilities in America.
Bottom line People of color will continue to suffer from a disproportionate number of health-related issues due to environmental racism unless serious attention and action is brought to the environmental justice movement, which advocates for healthy, sustainable, and livable communities.
Now is the time for communities to demand state and federal accountability and mobilize to raise the political capital of neighboring minority communities.
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