Racist Intent, Life-long Damage, Socioeconomic and Behavioral Control Through Lead Poisoning and Pollution

By Sarah, Nika, and Ruby

Each quarter, a group of students, faculty, and staff at WWU convene an environmental justice reading group to read and discuss recent texts. .In Spring 2021, the group is reading Harriet A. Washington’s A Terrible Thing to Waste. This post reflects and extends our discussion.

This week, our group facilitated a discussion focused on the second chapter of A Terrible Thing To Waste, by Harriet A. Washington. The systematic racism that is ingrained into the USA touches nearly every sector of our country, disenfranchising and harming people of color (POC) every day and environmental health is no exception. One of these issues is the matter of lead poisoning which disproportionately affects Black people in the US. Through a long history of governmental and corporate willful ignorance and blatant disregard to the dangers surrounding lead. Currently 2.5% of black children in the US are contaminated by lead (Welle, 2020) and “Nearly two of every five African American homes in Baltimore are plagued by lead-based paint. Almost all of the 37,500 Baltimore children who suffered lead poisoning between 2003 and 2015 were African American (Washington, H. Back cover).”

            Even though the effects of lead are well known and the poisonous consequences of even the smallest levels of lead have been documented for decades, many homes still contain lead. According to the US Department of Housing, there are over 3.6 million homes that house children and contain lead. This is no accident by corporations and governmental bodies, nor is it an accident that lead-ladened houses go primarily to Black folks. Companies use pollution, lead poisoning, and environmental spaces as a damaging and secretive way of controlling people of color. The effects of lead poisoning are life altering, “harm[ing] nearly every bodily organ, and can cause hearing loss, headaches, weakness, muscle problems, memory loss, and trouble learning and thinking clearly. Angry, moody, or hyperactive behavior and other personality changes are common” (Washington, H. p. 85).

The government has not been taking responsibility for polluting low-income housing in Flint Michigan and other areas. Companies are doing this with lead based paint and selling toys coated in lead. Instead of taking responsibility they blame it on the victim. This is detrimental for the human body; “it’s little pieces of dust, you inhale it, kids touch stuff, touch their mouths, absorb it. [Before the 1950s] it used to be so bad that kids would go into seizures, go to the hospital and die, because there was so much lead in their blood” (Welle, D.).

The lead pollution that is taking place in Flint and in other areas in the country is not a socioeconomic issue, it is an act of racism. However, class, environmentalism, and racism are all inherently linked. “Flint remains embroiled in a public health emergency, with high levels of lead in its water supply and in the blood of its children. Flint residents are charged some of the nation’s highest rates and taxes for their poisoned water. And when they cannot pay, the city takes draconian legal action, sometimes forcing residents from their homes”(Washington, H. p. 106). The victims of lead poisoning are predominantly people from poor black communities; it is so clear this is a racist act, since these issues still have not been solved. When the Lead Industries Association (LIA) “…suggested that the nation could only eliminate lead poisoning if it managed to ‘get rid of our slums,’ they were washing their hands of responsibility, as if leaded gas, lead paint, and lead-coated toys had spontaneously generated within slums rather than having been aggressively placed there via the industry’s vigorous promotion and political lobbying” (Washington, p. 82).

The ways companies are polluting homes and the environment as a means to target low-income, African-American and Hispanic populations is still going on today. With global warming, pollution is going to be harming all Americans, regardless of the racist intentions behind these acts of pollution. Hundreds of thousands of minorities, particularly children and families, are being affected by pollution. Lead poisoning can even lead to death. So, now that we know this, that large corporations, the police system, and the government is harming people of color in various ways, the question becomes: what can we do to address the blatant acts of racism in our governmental system? What can YOU do too? How do we stop these acts of racism and violence that are affecting people of color in so many ways? To start, read this book!!! We have a long way to go as a country. To live as a unified nation where everyone is respected and justice and freedom really are the pillars of our country’s lands, it is critical to learn about the injustice and racist acts that are taking place in America today. The more the people know, the less these corporations and systems of power can continue to get away with these acts. There are other ways to support people of color through these challenges; signing petitions, attending marches, spreading awareness, educating yourself, volunteering, doing mutual aid, and most importantly, staying engaged, hopeful, and kind through this intense time of our country’s history.

References

Shah, Khushbu. “The Pandemic Has Exposed America’s Clean Water Crisis.” Vox, Vox, 17 Apr. 2020, www.vox.com/identities/2020/4/17/21223565/coronavirus-clean-water-crisis-america.

Washington, H. A. (2020). A terrible thing to waste: Environmental racism and its assault on the American mind. Little, Brown Spark.

Welle, D. (2020, May 07). Lead Poisoning Reveals Environmental Racism in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.ecowatch.com/lead-environmental-racism-2645941587.html.