Janurary 27th-February 2nd
After an intensive three weeks in South Carolina working with a coalition of environmental organizations on a clean energy campaign surrounding the presidential primaries, the six of us headed down to Louisiana to conduct our scheduled programming, and work on environmental justice issues through community organizations, presentations and workshops at universities, high schools, middle schools, and more.
The drive down took us three days, including a pit stop in Georgia where we were able to stock up on some waste vegetable oil. We arrived late night in White Castle, LA and woke up early to meet with our new friend Albertha Hasten, founder and president of the Louisiana Environmental Justice Community Organizations Coalition. Albertha invited us into her home and quickly showed us the lay of the land. White Castle is situated in the heart of Cancer Ally, an eighty five mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with some of the worst environmental conditions in the country. Albertha quickly told us to move our trailer from its’ parking place because, “it is one of the most polluted towns in the area,” then Albertha warned us that we should not shower or drink the water where our trailer was previously parked. We also learned that the county next to White Castle, St. James Parish, has 140 petrochemical plants and a population of 22,000. This area is a perfect example of environmental injustice – environmental problems that disproportionately impact people of race, ethnicity, class, or gender. St. James Parish has a 55% higher percentage of people of color than the national average and 48% higher percentage of people of color below the poverty line.
There was not a minute to waste and Back Porch set to work learning as much as we could about environmental injustice, interviewing community leaders and helping Albertha and others with their environmental campaigns. It was truly inspiring to visit Albertha who has dedicated her life to fighting for basic rights for her community. We also got to know her grandson Tobias, who unfortunately has severe asthma common with many children in the area.
In the midst of extreme environmental issues and injustice, the people of White Castle are incredibly generous, caring, and passionate. Albertha showed us true southern hospitality treating us to delicious meals and welcoming us into her home. Environmental injustice issues are not things that you read about in school text books. After visiting these areas of environmental injustice and working on various campaigns, Back Porch hopes to continue to tell Albertha and other’s stories, as well as work with these groups more closely in the coming months, aiding them with campaign assistance from our central location.
