Environmental justice: what is it?

Why do so many people of color live in neighborhoods with polluted air and contaminated water? Experts explain...

Transcript

00:00When folks say that I can't breathe, we can't breathe, it is literally happening all the time,

00:0724 hours a day, seven days a week, in black and brown communities across our country.

00:11Environmental racism means that communities of color, lower wealth white communities,

00:15and indigenous peoples get all of the waste, all of the negative things that nobody else wants.

00:20Coal-fired power plants, incinerators, petrochemical facilities,

00:25lower wealth housing that has lead and other toxins in it.

01:30Coal-fired power plant right across the river. And my community was also built on top of an old mine.

01:35And unfortunately, in the community that I grew up in, you know, we had high rates of cancer.

01:40People in my family have had cancer multiple times. You know, my best friend's family had cancer.

01:46The other place that I grew up, which was completely different than Appalachia,

01:49was in Detroit. But they were dealing with similar situations, you know,

01:53dealing with pollution that comes from traffic, dealing with pollution that came from plants.

01:58Many of the same challenges, sometimes they're wrapped in slightly different packages,

02:03are impacting all of us.

02:15I would say that the environment does not discriminate within itself, but that not all

02:22communities are created equal. Communities of color are not suffering because of chance.

02:27It's because of decisions that have been made.

02:41We have to stop the system from unintentionally or consequentially impacting the same communities.

02:49And if you are not doing that work to stop it, then you are part of the problem.

02:54We're thinking about green and healthy homes, right? We're thinking about transportation

03:00that's more inclusive of greater mobility options so that you're not stuck in your car.

03:04And really thinking about how we have clean water, but not just clean water, affordable water.

03:09That's why all of us have to be a part of the sets of solutions to make real change happen.

03:14I'm very hopeful and optimistic around environmental justice

03:18and us moving forward in a positive direction. Because I get a chance to work with so many

03:23incredible people all across this country. And I know their level of commitment,

03:27from six years old, all the way up to our elders. We've got an intergenerational movement that's

03:32going on. But of course, that energy and innovation is coming from young people.

03:36And young people say, I can't wait.