My internship at the Julian Grace Foundation (JGF) reminded me of how environmental justice and economic disparity strongly correlate with each other. Using the definition by Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, “Environmental justice is based on the reality that certain groups in society bear unequal environmental and economic burdens like poor air and water quality, as well as unhealthy living conditions resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations and/or federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.” Environmental justice ties in with economic disparity due to the lack of investment and care in underfunded Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Utilizing the data from the Urban Institute, economic disparity included a lack of investment in home mortgages, small business loans and commercial real estate investments. This greatly affects underfunded BIPOC communities because it doesn’t create a sustainable economy for communities. Moreover, the lack of investment worsens the matter of environmental justice in underfunded communities. According to this report, environmental issues affect BIPOC communities in Chicago prominently and climate change drastically affects BIPOC communities. Large corporations continue to exploit tax breaks in Chicago and continue to violate environmental protections. Ultimately, corporations and the city of Chicago continue to ignore and underfund the BIPOC communities of Chicago, and it leaves communities vulnerable to climate change and health defects.
I vividly remember the day that the demolishment of the Crawford Power Plant occurred. The Crawford Power Plant was a coal-powered plant that was a massive polluter since the 20th century. Little Village fought against the Crawford Power Plant for decades before it was shut down in 2012. Community organizations such as Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) were vital to the battle against the Crawford Power Plant. While that was a victory, the battle was far from over. Who would purchase the land mass to replace the Crawford Power Plant? Hilco, a logistics company, bought the land to create a warehouse for the big box chains that are located on the same street. Because of the size of the lot, Hilco tried to take a shortcut by demolishing the power plant with explosives in April 2020. My two-year old German Shepherd suffers with anxiety and the slightest random noise makes her frantic. The morning of the demolition, I was walking my dog and the sudden noise traumatized her. The noise was sudden and loud, and there was no warning for the noise or dust that would follow. I couldn’t help but notice that I did not feel an adverse effect to the noise or demolition because I have been desensitized to the cloudy dust bowls that often occur in the streets of Little Village. Since I could remember, I have been inhaling dust from the Crawford Plant or breathing in smoke from the industrial trucks that casually travel through the neighborhood even if they are legally prohibited from traveling around the narrow streets of the neighborhood. Little Village did not receive a proper early notice about the demolishment of the Crawford Power Plant, nor was it shown that it was going to be demolished by explosives. As if that was not bad enough, the explosion occurred in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Little Village was already vulnerable to respiratory diseases, such as asthma, due to the pollution of the industrial companies around. COVID-19 worsened conditions and the health of vulnerable members of Little Village. Afterwards, there was action call from LVEJO to protest the injustice. Mayor Lightfoot apologized and exclaimed injustice, but there was no major action afterwards. The Hilco warehouse is replacing the Crawford Power Plant and is going to produce more pollution around the area due to heightened traffic. The tax breaks that the city of Chicago provides Hilco is one of the major reasons as to why companies and high polluting corporations are interested in southwest Chicago.
There is a major correlation to how the income division in Chicago and segregation environmentally affect Black and Latinx communities. Segregation is not a strange concept to the city of Chicago. In the 1930s and on, communities in Chicago got divided into an income and race hierarchy. Most of the time, warehousing and companies are located towards the south of Chicago. According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, “Black and Latino residents are more likely to live close to industrial pollution and have chronic health conditions, such as asthma.” The high pollution in the southwest areas of Chicago remains a prevalent issue. The correlation between pollution and health disparities in underfunded BIPOC communities in Chicago continues to rise.
My internship at JGF reminded me about the importance of community and the conversations around environmental justice and economic disparity. Listening to different conversations that I was able to be part of pushed me to reconcile with the idea that climate change and global warming is a local issue as well. Along with the conversations I was part of and my experience during the internship, I began to think of some initial solutions to the issues I named above. In my opinion, the City of Chicago should reel back tax breaks for major corporations and begin to invest in underfunded BIPOC communities by imposing stronger taxes for major corporations and imposing stronger environmental protections. Philanthropy can begin to invest in more environmentally focused organizations. Furthermore, philanthropy should also invest in organizations that focus on making communities economically sustainable on their own. Capital firms can invest in commercial real estate in the southern communities of Chicago. Consequently, philanthropy can also become more involved by listening to members of underfunded BIPOC communities and listening to the solutions communities have to offer. Highlighting environmental collaborative organizations can begin the transformation for philanthropic institutions to get actively involved with the communities they fund. If philanthropic institutions can become stronger allies to organizations in BIPOC communities, this can help close the disparity between health and income.