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Abstract: Black women grassroots activists are on the frontlines in toxic fence line communities facing environmental injustice and fighting for the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. They insist that environmental laws on the books to be enforced by regulatory agencies. This study explores the environmental justice leadership of Black women who live in communities where toxic facilities are in their backyards. The health and well being of these communities are increasingly affected by these environmental hazards. As a consequence, African-American women have organized grassroots environmental groups that oppose siting of the locally unwanted land uses in their backyards. This study was motivated by the need to understand the vital role that African-American women play in the mobilization of the Black community around environmental justice issues. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on environmental justice by presenting a new perspective on women environmentalists in the field. Very few studies have investigated the organization of women, more specifically women of color around environmental issues. The environmental justice framework is used to analyze the motivation of African-American women leaders in the environmental justice movement. The scope of this study is limited to the analysis of African-American women who have been environmental and social justice activists. Thirty interviews with African American women who resided near toxic facilities in Southeast Atlanta were conducted. Personal and social networks in the community were used to analyze Black women activism around environmental justice issues.
Keywords: African-American women activism; environmental justice; environmental justice movement; African American women in environmental justice movement; women movement
Women of color in fence line communities are fighting "life and death" battles to reduce or eliminate environmental degradation in their toxic backyards (i.e., locally unwanted land uses such as garbage dumps, salvage yards, hazardous wastes sites, incinerators, polluting industries facilities, nuclear facilities, and truck stops). The environmental justice movement "emerged from grassroots struggles to confront local environmental inequalities. Activists have been organized to confront local and regional hazards, challenge federal regulations and policies, get federal and local offices to clean up hazardous areas, and to push and [prod] the mainstream environmental movement" (Pinderhughes, 1996). They participate in social change movements due to substantially large numbers of environmental and health problems that have resulted from environmental...