Environmental Justice
Over the next several months, we will be engaging with environmental justice groups to co-create locally based education content. For now, we have the resources below to teach about environmental justice in your learning environment.
Overview
“Environmental justice is the belief that everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, or race, has the right to a clean and healthy environment. Environmental racism, as apparent in Manchester and Harrisburg neighborhoods in Houston, demonstrates a complete disregard for environmental justice. It is the placement of low-income or minority communities in close proximity to environmentally hazardous or tarnished environments.” Julianne Crawford, Stanford
The cancer risk in Manchester is 22 percent higher than for all of Houston. Photo: Houston Chronicle.
Dr. Robert Bullard, now a Distinguished Professor at Texas Southern University, is the “father of environmental justice.” In the 1980s, he set out to identify and map neighborhoods, residents and polluting industries. He learned:
one in four residents of Houston was Black
all city-owned landfills and six of eight city-owned incinerators were located in Black neighborhoods
three of the four privately owned landfills were located in Black neighborhoods
Alarmed, he expanded his studies across the southern United States, and he said he “found that environmental oppression was rooted in systemic racism.”
He says, “In the United States, based on the color of your skin and the money in your bank account, you’re literally breathing different air. Environmental justice embraces the principle that all communities are entitled to equal protection of our housing, transportation, employment, and transportation. It’s an issue of the right to live in a neighborhood that’s not polluted, a neighborhood where your kids can play outside on the playground that’s not next to a refinery or a chemical plant.”
He said, “The quest for justice is no sprint. It’s a marathon relay (where we must) pass the baton to the next generation of freedom fighters.”
Read more about Dr. Bullard on the United Nations Environment Program’s Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award page
Local Resources
Check out t.e.j.a.s., the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Service
Houston Chronicle article on Furr High School, in Houston ISD, the first environmental justice magnet school in the country
Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience: Raising awareness of the connection between pollution, place and the public’s health.
The Gulf Coast is the traditional territory of Sana, Akokisa, Karankawa, Atakapa, Bidai, Tonkawa, Caddo and Osage people. Discover and acknowledge the Indigenous inhabitants of your neighborhood using the Native Land website. Teachers - download the new teacher’s guide with detailed instructions on how to use the map and additional resources.
Lone Star Legal Aid: Environmental Justice Resources
One Breath Partnership information on environmental racism in Houston
Activities/Lessons
EcoRise Sustainable Intelligence Program:
Houston area teachers have access to the EcoRise Sustainable Intelligence Program, including over 200 K-12 standards aligned lesson sustainability lessons in English and Spanish.
STEM-based Sustainable Intelligence (SI) Curriculum introduces students to challenges and opportunities surrounding seven distinct eco-themes and engages youth in developing real-world solutions in their communities through project-based activities, design labs, and campus Eco-Audits. Eco-themes include: water, waste, air, energy, transportation, food, and public spaces. EcoRise teachers receive teacher training and support and access to our Student Innovation Fund, which provides opportunities for students to write grant applications to EcoRise to get their green campus projects funded.
Environmental Justice: EcoRise teachers can use the Environmental Justice Connections Guide to quickly find the SI lessons related to EJ topics.
To get started go to: ecorise.org/enroll
One Breath Partnership Video: Again, Together and companion discussion guide
Discussion questions to accompany Cancer Town and What is Environmental Justice? movies
Turn your classroom into a space that facilitates exploration of Environmental Justice Heroes’ action and work with free illustrations. Encourage students to research and make their own, too.
Videos
More Environmental Justice videos on the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition’s YouTube Channel
Dr. Robert Bullard, Texas Southern University
The Louisiana town where cancer haunts the streets: 'People are dying horrible deaths'
Banner Image Photo by Allan Jamail