Honoring Juneteenth: Environmental Justice is Freedom

Juneteenth marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. It is a time to celebrate freedom, and to confront the structures that continue to perpetuate injustice.

At Healthy Materials Lab, we recognize that freedom and justice cannot exist without environmental health. This Juneteenth, we continue to shine a light on the devastating environmental racism impacting historically Black communities along Louisiana’s petrochemical corridor and the continued resistance that rises in response.

The region, known as “Cancer Alley,” stretches from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and remains one of the most toxic areas in the United States. Predominantly Black communities are surrounded by more than 150 petrochemical plants and refineries, with many living and learning just steps away from facilities that emit cancer-causing chemicals like chloroprene and ethylene oxide used to make materials we use every day.

This year, we return to the work of multimedia reporter Julie Dermansky, whose photographs and reporting offer intimate, urgent documentation of both the harm and the hope in Louisiana’s industrial sacrifice zones. Her ongoing photo series captures the people fighting for their homes, their health, and their children - including members of RISE St. James and the Coalition Against Death Alley, grassroots groups organizing tirelessly to stop the expansion of new chemical plants and relocate vulnerable residents away from hazardous sites.

Since last year’s EPA announcement of tighter emissions regulations for chloroprene and ethylene oxide, little has changed for frontline communities. The timelines for compliance stretch years into the future. Schools like Fifth Ward Elementary in St. John the Baptist Parish remain near toxic facilities, while families continue to breathe polluted air and fear for their children’s health.

As community advocate and RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne said in a recent interview: “We are not asking for anything extra; we’re asking for life… 

This Juneteenth, we stand with Sharon Lavigne and with all communities who demand more than symbolic freedom. True liberation means the right to live in a safe, healthy environment. It means no child should go to school next to a smokestack. It means environmental justice is not separate from racial justice, because it is racial justice.

At Healthy Materials Lab, we believe design must be in service to people and the planet. We commit to building a world where no community is sacrificed for convenience, profit, or negligence. That work starts by listening to and amplifying the voices of those on the front lines.

Let us honor Juneteenth by working toward a future where every child, family, and neighborhood can breathe freely.

About the Photographs:

All Photographs by Julie Dermansky.
We recommend her powerful series “Louisiana’s Cancer Alley” on DeSmog and her continued documentation of frontline environmental justice efforts.

Image 1 (header): Marchers at the approach to the Sunshine Bridge in St. James Louisiana on the third day of a five day march through Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ held by the Coalition Against Death Alley. The Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA), is a group of Louisiana-based residents and members of various local and state organizations, is calling for a stop to the construction of new petrochemical plants and the passing of stricter regulations on existing industry in the area that include the groups RISE St. James, Justice and Beyond, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, 350 New Orleans, and the Concerned Citizens of St. John Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, an 80-mile stretch along the Mississippi River, is also known as the “Petrochemical Corridor,” where there are over 100 petrochemical plants and refineries. The Coalition was denied a permit to march over the Sunshine Bridge and the I-10 Bridge. ©2019 Julie Dermansky.

Image 2: Attorney Eberhard D. Garrison at a school board town hall meeting in LaPlace, Louisiana. ©2018 Julie Dermansky.

Image 3: Denka/Dupont in LaPlace Louisiana next to the 5th Ward Elementary School and residential community. ©2017 Julie Dermansky.

Image 4: Lavigne with members of the Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA) on the steps of the State Capitol on June 3, 2019, at the end of a five day protest event. The group called for tighter regulation of existing plants and an end to the building of new ones. ©2019 Julie Dermansky.

Image 5: In St. James, Louisiana, on the third day of a five day march through Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ held by the Coalition Against Death Alley. The Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA), is a group of Louisiana-based residents and members of various local and state organizations, is calling for a stop to the construction of new petrochemical plants and the passing of stricter regulations on existing industry in the area that include the groups RISE St. James, Justice and Beyond, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, 350 New Orleans, and the Concerned Citizens of St. John Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, an 80-mile stretch along the Mississippi River, is also known as the “Petrochemical Corridor,” where there are over 100 petrochemical plants and refineries. ©2019 Julie Dermansky.