Highlighting Environmental Racism and Climate Justice on MLK Day

Every third Monday of January is designated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday to honor the late civil rights hero and the fight he championed. A spokesman, minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and leader in the American civil rights movement, Dr. King’s legacy lives on today in the continual fight for the equality of all human beings. 

Dr. Martin Luther King and climate justice

• In 1968, Dr. King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to help lead a strike by Black sanitation workers who were protesting hazardous working conditions, in one of the first fights against environmental racism in the U.S. This pioneering event was also one of Dr. King’s last acts, as it was during that visit when he was tragically assassinated.
• In a 2011 speech at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program, Attorney General Eric Holder spoke about his impact:

“Dr. King, in addition to his many other achievements, helped to plant the seeds for what would become our nation’s now-thriving environmental justice movement.”

• Today, we want to honor Dr. King’s ongoing fight for racial equality by highlighting climate justice as a civil rights issue and providing resources for how you can help.

A history of injustice

• The Environmental Justice Movement arose from and with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. 
• Evidence of disparities amongst different racial groups are some of the clearest examples of environmental racism, and they have been documented since the 1970s. 
• Historical practices like redlining legally segregated the U.S., essentially excluding Black Americans from home ownership and forcing Black communities to areas with undesirable environmental features - heat-trapping pavement, polluted waterways, lack of green spaces, and proximity to highways, factories, and power plants. 
• Governments have even targeted majority Black neighborhoods when placing landfills and other solid waste sites. 
• These policies and practices created a cycle of environmental problems that persist today.

Recent examples of environmental racism

• A comprehensive study released in 2021 found that people of color, especially Black Americans, are exposed to higher-than-average air pollution from nearly every type of category studied - from construction, power plant, vehicle, residential, industrial, and agriculture emission sources.
• The disparities continue when examining exposure to water pollution. EPA data from 2016-2019 revealed that public water systems in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act are 40% more likely to serve people of color.
• Air and water pollution contributes to a higher risk of respiratory illness, asthma, cancer, lead poisoning, other health risks, and even death amongst lower-income neighborhoods, minority communities, and especially Black Americans.
• Dr. Robert D. Bullard, a Texas Southern University professor, and decades-long environmental racism writer and researcher, told the New York Times: 

“Empirical research is now catching up with the reality: that America is segregated and so is pollution.”

A day of service

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday that is designated as a national day of service. Below are some resources and ways to give back to your community and fight environmental injustice on MLK Day and any day.

Consider supporting some of these U.S.-focused organizations

• The NAACP is the largest civil rights organization in the U.S., and they are committed to fighting environmental injustice. Learn more from their website and donate here. 
• Americorps is the official federal agency for community service and volunteerism. They provide volunteer opportunities year-round, and you can specifically search for MLK Day events as well. Check out all of their resources here. 
• Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute has extensive resources to access and learn more about Dr. King and the civil rights movement.
• One Percent For The Planet has provided an extensive list of nonprofit organizations fighting for social and environmental justice.
• Green Matters has also compiled a list, including groups like Black Millennials for Flint, the Climate Justice Alliance, and more organizations to support. See the full list here.

-Casey Dawson

(Photo credit: Flickr/bswise)