• A Brief History of Environmental Justice in the US & What is Environmental Racism? (pgs

Think about everything that is a part of your environment— from the water you drink, to the air you breathe. Think about all the places you spend the most time in. Are these places clean and safe?

How do you think being exposed to an environmental hazard in a place we spend a lot of time in affects us?

Do you think having a healthy and safe environment is a human right everyone should be afforded? Why or why not?

Draw, paint, or take a photo of one of your environments that you spend a lot of time in.

What areas in South Florida are impacted by environmental injustices?

In SoFlo, like the rest of the US, low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards and burdens.

Some of these communities include (but are not limited to) Belle Glades, Pahokee, Opalocka, Allapattah, South Bay, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Little Havana, Florida City, and Overtown.

Research shows that communities of color are exposed to more pollution than they produce.

(Tessum et al, 2019)

How are these some of these areas impacted?

Climate Gentrification & Forced Displacement:

As sea-water levels rise because of the melting ice caps due to global warming, Florida is simultaneously sinking due to land subsidence. Thus, coastal areas as quickly becoming eroded and flooded. When “desirable” coastal real-estate starts to flood, businesses push inland, causing gentrification of low-income communities that are often situated inland at the margins of coastal areas. This is currently happening in Little Haiti (click to read here). Low-income residents, which are also often immigrant communities and people of color, are forced to relocate as their communities become “desirable” real-estate. They are forcibly displaced from their homes, neighbors, and communities that they have cultural ties to.

Air Pollution:

Denser communities and poorer communities often have higher emissions due to industry encroachment. Companies sugarcoat this idea by saying that industries will create new jobs and stimulate the economy. However, research shows that communities of color receiving a larger share of the pollution than of the available jobs in urban areas. For example, a study found that Black communities, on average, received 17.4 percent of the exposure, compared to just 10.8 percent of the jobs (Ash & Boyce, 2001).

Furthermore, industry can release hazardous air pollutants including carcinogenic chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene, and acenaphthylene.