My fellow People of Color are going through a struggle everyday, either it’s discrimination for the pigment of our skin, our culture, or our simple morals in life. When I think of the definition of environmental injustice, I automatically think of low income, impoverished communities, a variety of ethnicities, toxic dirty air, pollution all around, and nobody enforcing a law, regulations, or policies.
My name is Michelle Casian. I am here coming to you as a Youth Organizer with Communities for a Better Environment. I am here as a Woman of Color and a front line community member saying that I stand against these unjust oil refineries that are a part of the breaking of treaties like No DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline). I am living proof as someone who is fighting for my community against the oppressive powers that threaten to take the rights that everyone should be receiving. At the end
of the day, it shouldn’t matter about the color of your skin, your income, or anything you identify as. You have the human right to clean air, water, and soil.
One thing I witness everyday is having to carry a burden that our communities have to deal with. We live next to a very industrial city that is heavily oil influenced. We’re next to one of the largest oil refineries on the West Coast (Tesoro) and the largest oil drilling site west of the Mississippi River. We deal with our air being so polluted that it puts us at a higher risk of getting cancer, asthma, and other diseases. You’ll never see an oil refinery located in the backyard of someone’s home in Beverly Hills, but we have to deal with a whole block of oil refineries in the very backyard of residents in Wilmington, CA, and we have to assume that that’s totally normal? Either way, if these oil companies actually tried to go put a refinery in a community like Malibu, everyone would lose their mind. That community would demand to get that refinery covered up or gone for good, and based off of their income, they’ll get their wishes granted, which has happened in the past. What I’m trying to say is, why is it acceptable that a local community like Wilmington has to deal with this, but other folks don’t?
This is an example of environmental racism. Some people can’t seem to get the hint that the environment is a serious problem, and especially for lower income communities. People have grown so used to getting treated badly that they think these situations are totally normal. We have a requirement to inform those who are not aware of this injustice and to fight for our right to clean air, water, and soil.