1982: Warren County Protests
1987: Toxic Wastes & Race in the US Report finds evidence of environmental racism
The exact start of the Environmental Justice Movement in the US is unclear—the need for environmental justice was certainly discussed during the Civil
Rights Movement. Historians consider the sit-in and
protest in 1982 in Warren County, North Carolina (NC) the official start of the movement…
In 1978, the Ward Transformer Company began dumping toxic waste illegally along the shoulders of NC roads. The oil was laced with hazardous
chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
which are known to cause birth defects, liver problems, and cancer. They contaminated 240 miles of highway—approximately the distance between San Diego and Las Vegas. The state government conducted a cleanup, and decided to put the hazardous waste in a dump in Warren County, which was was a
small, low-income, and predominately African-American community in North Carolina. They attempted to justify their decision by arguing that Warren County had a low GDP, which only proved they were discriminating against a low income community. The community organized a resistance against the state.
including the NAACP mounted a lawsuit against the Organizations state and were able to delay the project for a few years. However, in 1982 the state began to build the dump. Protests culminated with a six-week-long sit-in, and over 500 arrests (even though the protesters had been peaceful). Though the protests, unfortunately, did not stop the construction of the hazardous waste dump, they did lead to the election of Black officials to state government, and sparked the EJ movement nationwide. 6
Sources: EPA, GreenAction
1990: EPA commission of Environmental Equity was established 1994: Executive Order 1298 was signed by President Clinton to address EJ in the US
1988: The first EJ organization was formed: WEACT in NY READ MORE HERE 1991: Delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in DC Drafted 17 Principles of Environmental Justice READ MORE HERE
You can read more about the history of the Environmental Justice Movement at the EPA website HERE
The Toxic Wastes and Race report found that 3/5 African-Americans and Latinx lived in a community housing toxic waste (1987). This was evidence of environmental racism: People of Color are not afforded equal rights when it comes to living in a safe and healthy environment. 7
