#1440 The Physical Structures of Structural Racism and the Fight for Environmental Justice
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 8 September 2021
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 9/8/2021
Today we take a look at the legacy of red-lining, the building and subsequent destruction of Black communities and the health and environmental impacts of segregation. The concept of “Structural Racism” is often a metaphor, not something physical that you can touch, but that is not the case when it comes to environmental racism.
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SHOW NOTES
We're making a deadly mistake if we don't talk about environmental justice when we discuss racism and Black liberation.
Ch. 2: Redlining & Climate Change: A Deadly Combination - News Beat - Air Date 4-27-21
Although the Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned redlining and housing discrimination in general, three out of four redlined communities rated "hazardous" 80 years ago are struggling economically today.
Guests: Catherine Flowers founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and Amy Stelly, a designer and board member of the Urban Conservancy.
Ch. 4: Environmental Racism is Real Part 1 - Tamarindo Podcast - Air Date 6-16-21
We talk to Environmental justice lawyer Claire Woods about how black and brown communities face the brunt of many environmental justice issues, the connection to racism, and what we can do to help.
Ch. 5: Biden Promises To Grapple With Environmental Racism - Short Wave - Air Date 2-4-21
NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher talks about the history of environmental racism in the United States, and what Biden's administration can do to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Ch. 6: Environmental Racism is Real Part 2 - Tamarindo Podcast - Air Date 6-16-21
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Summary + reading from The Sum of Us on pollution in segregated cities
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 9: Post-Civil War Reconstruction and the occupation of Afghanistan - Dave from Olympia, WA
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on how structural racism becomes personal racism and comparing Reconstruction with the occupation of Afghanistan
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: An official, rectangular metal sign bolted to a telephone poll displays the image of a cropped city map with a red outlined area. Below, the sign reads "Portland's Historic Redline District." Smaller text below reads "In Portland's past, 'redlining' practices created exclusionary zones for 'Negroes and Orientals' by real estate, banking and insurance companies. Agents could lose their licenses for crossing this color barrier. Now, urban gentrification displaces low-income families, as the remaining affordable housing stock in this area disappears."
Credit: "Redlining" by radcliffe dacanay, Flickr | License | Changes: Cropped
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast in which we shall |
| 0:07.6 | take a look at the legacy of redlining the building and subsequent destruction of black communities |
| 0:14.1 | and the health and environmental impacts of segregation. |
| 0:17.9 | The concept of structural racism is often a metaphor, not something physical you can |
| 0:22.6 | actually touch, but that is not the case when it comes to environmental racism. |
| 0:27.8 | Eclipse today are from Black History Year, Newsbeat, Shortwave and the Temerendo podcast. |
| 0:41.8 | I'm interested in taking a step back actually because I think this concept of environmental |
| 0:47.6 | justice may be unfamiliar to many. |
| 0:50.6 | We hear about criminal justice. |
| 0:53.0 | We hear about other economic justice, but could you just give us a definition of what |
| 0:59.2 | environmental justice is and what does it tackle in the day-to-day lives of black people |
| 1:05.5 | worldwide? |
| 1:07.0 | When I was in graduate school, I used to be the laughing stock of other black students. |
| 1:11.8 | As a matter of fact, sometimes I dread for it, it's just going over to the black house. |
| 1:16.1 | And the reason the minute I'd get in, people would start laughing and go, oh, she's the |
| 1:20.3 | one studying all that for sure and environmental stuff. |
| 1:23.4 | And I cannot tell you how many people would come up to me and go, why don't you do something |
| 1:29.0 | to benefit black people? |
| 1:30.8 | Why are you focused on studying this environmental stuff? |
| 1:34.8 | And part of that attitude is part of why we're in this mess in the first place because |
| 1:42.5 | while we were busy, rightfully so, trying to get on the front door of the bus, get into |
| 1:48.9 | the front of the building, while we were looking at those kinds of civil rights issues, |
... |
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