A white woman in Mossville

For the past year, since entering Sarah Lawrence, I have been wrestling with the concept of white privilege, and how it applies to me. It is a difficult thing to hear, when you are not a person of color, that you live in a system that was set up to oppress others, specifically people of color. Just by being white, you benefit from it in some way. So many things began to make sense to me, and fall into place, particularly after attending an undoing racism training last month. Still, it is such an eye opener to experience it first hand, when your eyes have been opened. What was probably the most distressing to me is to witness people of color bend over backwards to apologize to me as they expressed their unhappiness, outrage, and feelings of helplessness as victims of environmental racism. I heard repeatedly comments such as "I'm not a racist" or "please don't take this the wrong way." That they felt the need to apologize angers me. The residents of Mossville are being systematically erased by the refinery industry, a sneaky form of genocide. Its appreciated that they wished me no discomfort, but angering that this world of privilege we live in necessitates the need to do it at all. Screw my discomfort. To heck with power structures. They owe me nothing. Not only should they be able to express their emotions freely, but comfortably, but because I am white, they could not. They are slowly dying, and they felt the need to make me feel comfortable. This has to stop. It is not enough that those of us who are white do not engage in racist acts personally. Simply by benefiting from a system we do not challenge is participation. We need to lend our voices to this injustice, to this inhumanity, and fight for true equality. An equality where people of color can drink the water flowing through their pipes, and breathe the air around them. Where they can talk about what has happened to them since being dragged here to make money off their sweat. Until we can do that, we are no better than those who burn crosses, or scream white power. Silence does not excuse us...Liz

Youth Group (pictures soon)

While in Mossville I really wanted to get a youth group together to talk about any pertinent issues in their community. A group of five girls and I got together (with the help of Ashley) to discuss their community. What was evident from the beginning was their emotional and familial connection to Mossville. Never have I seen a community that truly loves each other, and will help their neighbor out at any time of day. I was touched from the first day I met the Mossville residents. The girls however, defined community as what we all would think of, "it takes a village to raise a child, sharing, caring, love". But what I found interesting is the discrepancy between that definition and their definition of the Mossville community. These youth see a problem and can recognize that it is systemic. The community has been silenced and hushed for too long and these youth are not happy watching the elderly folks as they battle their illnesses, or watch as a flare burns in the distance. I only had the opportunity to spend three days with these ladies and it was evident that they are ready for a change and will push for their voices to be heard.
The project I proposed to them was for them to take pictures of their community; to describe Mossville through their pictures. They were extremely happy to do this and want to be involved with the community. The girls ranged in ages from 13-16 and I was a little disappointed we didn't have any boys that wanted to participate. However the pictures turned out great. When I return to Sarah Lawrence the girls and I will decide what pictures to print and how large they'd like them to be. I am extremely proud of the girls for the dedication and motivation and as a result of their efforts this week they have been allowed to post their pictures and descriptions at a local recreational center as well as a local church. This work is not done and I will be in contact with these teens- being a part of their lives for such a short period of time was truly enriching. -- Nicole

A word on race relations... (part 2)

Environmental racism is something we should talk about, too. Knowing the intentional history of placement of the petrochemical corporations, we can begin to construct a web of structures that impact the community. It forms the disproportional pressure placed upon communities of color that leads to oppression, disenfranchisement, morbidity and mortality.

Mossville, literally, is a poisoned place, because of the refineries, as well as the policies and institutions that allow the toxic practices to continue. Politics, social services, economics all contribute.

Our work and our world-view must be anti-racist in nature. We must challenge and dismantle the structures that oppress, that kill. (For good information and training about anti-racist work, go to The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond) ~~ Josh

How I learned to be a Mossville resident

Like the truly spoiled New Yorker I am, unaccustomed to forgoing latte's, I rolled through McDonalds in search of sugary goodness loaded with caffeine. This is how I learned what its like to live in Mossville firsthand. After two days of drinking the golden arches nectar, I realized that in order to make coffee, you need water. And water here is not good for you. In any way. I became very sick. Not just the malaise I had been feeling from breathing in the air here, which btw, makes Staten Island's ripe aroma seem like the fresh air of Wyoming, but gut wrenching sick. Worse than the illness was the fear and panic that came with it. What did I do to myself? How long would I feel this way? Was it permanent? Did I damage something? It washed over me in waves as I lay in bed miserable. Thanks to the wonders of homeopathy, I am feeling much better, but now I have time to think about the people who live here. I can leave. I will get on a plane on Saturday, and go home. To, while not clean, certainly much better air. And the water is wonderful. Nothing beats NY water. How much we take for granted. I feel connected to the residents here in a rich and meaningful way, not just because for a short time I was able to experience the very real consequences of environmental pollution, but because they live, laugh, love, and continue on despite it. They are strong, resilient, and beautiful. I am honored that they let me share their lives, even for a week. ....Liz

A word on race relations... (part 1)

When examining the social structures that impact a community, race invariably emerges-- as it should. The truth is, racism still plays a massive role in the way Americans live. Here is no different.

One of the community members told me about how the refineries chose that particular area to set up shop. He said it seemed convenient, and most definitely intentional, that these corporations underbought land from poor black landowners in order to begin building. That leads us to the situation today, when an historically African American community is literally boxed in by petrochemical companies.

-- Josh

The Mossville Water tower. I can't count the number of people who said that they don't drink the water from their taps and know that showering in it is bad for their health.

A note about evacuation

The ever thoughtful local refineries have been kind enough to create an evacuation route for Mossville residents in case of a major disaster. This road starts out roughly paved and after several hundred yards turns into a narrow gravel path with deep ditches on either side. Driving down this road the other day we were unable to go faster than about 5 mph due to the large number of car eating potholes. Trying to imagine the 700 some odd residents of Mossville all trying to escape via this road at one time hammers home the reality of the situation. We had enough trouble making it down the road in the middle of the day in our minivan. Trying to get down it at night or in bad weather or in a smaller car seems like it would be nearly impossible.
-Beja

Dr. Strangeplume, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the siren

Okay, so, I don't really love the siren, but let's unpack what it means. Every Monday, a shelter in place alarm test is supposed to go off at the plants and on the local media services. This alarm, in a real emergency, is supposed to signify that hazardous materials have been released into the atmosphere.

I'm reminded, strangely, of the old nuclear emergency plans. "Hide under your desk kids! The radiation won't get you." Yikes. The Shelter in Place plan essentially says the same thing. Certainly, being inside might provide some protection, but air/radiation/other contaminants do tend to ignore walls and roofs. It might be the only plan, but is it an acceptable plan for our fellow citizens?

A Parish police officer explained that the test is a good example of some of the ways that the plant tries to protect the neighboring citizens. He also remarked that if the plants were to explode, it would leave a crater the size of Texas (!!!). Now, I'm not sure exactly what this alarm is supposed to sound like and I can't really verify the Texas comment, but all reports to me indicate that the alarm is a garbled, completely incomprehensible message blasted from the plants.

Let's note, we weren't able to hear the alarm on Monday at noon, when it was supposed to go off-- even though we were most definitely in the Mossville area... ~~ Josh

Toxic Transport & Tapwater

Yesterday afternoon we were driving by the Conoco Phillips plant here in Mossville when we saw a school bus driving under the chemical pipelines. Everyday on the way to and from school the children are driven by a number of chemical plants including Conoco, Georgia Gulf, and Sasol. The smell along this road is unbelievable. I was outside of the car for a few minutes taking pictures and by the time I got back in my eyes and lungs were burning. I can't believe children have to ride through this everyday.

This morning a lady who had participated in our door to door survey yesterday called us to come look at her water. She lives basically right between the Conoco Phillips and Georgia Gulf plants and this is what was coming out of her tap:

The longer we ran the tap the browner the water got.
-Beja

Spirituality and Community: Keeping Hope Alive- Reflection+ a page from Toi's journal

3.21.10

Sunday after a delicious breakfast which was lovingly prepared by two prominent MEAN members for the whole SLC posse, we all went off to different churches in which the organization members are involved. There are various denominations prevalent in Mossville. The churches attended by SLC students were the Pentecostal, Catholic, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, and on Saturday Rebecca Johnson attended the Seventh Day Adventist church.

Josh and I attended the CME church which one of the MEAN leaders, Miss Dorothy, attends. The preacher delivered a powerful message to the congregation. He said that there was "room at the banquet for everyone." Meaning that none are excluded from the love of their Creator. He addressed the fact that Miss Dorothy had brought Josh and I and weaved this into his sermon. The music was uplifting and scriptures were read by two young boys. The preacher said that "we" (meaning the whole community) have to bring them up in a way that they'll never stray from spirituality and their community.

Spirituality is very important in most communities of color and I honestly believe that Rebecca wanted the SLC students to understand how important faith is in these communities. It is the bedrock for the majority of social justice movements. People need a reason to keep going- to survive. Also, going to the different churches showed that we were interested in belonging to the community and helped build trust among community members.

MEAN is all about compassion for their community. The understanding I have of compassion as it pertains to spirituality stems mainly from Buddhism but I believe is very similar in Christianity. Compassion in Buddhism is a recognition and effort to alleviate suffering. All of MEAN's efforts come not only from this particular place but also from a place commonly identified by Buddhists as "loving-kindness". This term loving-kindness is also similar to the Christian concept of compassion. It is defined as the quality of being warm-hearted, considerate, and humane and extending good will, care and consideration to all. It is motivated by a feeling of affection for a person or even a cause and is extended to all beings without exception. The members of MEAN have exhibited an enormous amount of compassion and loving-kindness to the Mossville community. MEAN has decided to take on multiple roles as protector, informant, and liberator because of the innate sentiment of loving-kindness- that magnetic pull to serve their community in a compassionate way. To not only find answers and solutions but also to breathe enthusiasm into, and kindle hope for, a community that has begun to resign its well-being and quality of life to a cold-hearted, money-driven industry who refuses to see this community as human. And who refuses to see the effect to their cause.

After the church services we had dinner with MEAN and some of the community members who had received fliers to attend. The turnout was minimal but there was much wisdom shared by Miss Dorothy and Mr. Mouton. After dinner they spoke about how far MEAN had come and about what I interpreted as the importance of awareness and our needs assessment. Then Mrs. Richard from the Concerned Citizens of Norco delivered a fiery speech telling about how her past organization was able to overcome environmental injustice in her community by being relocated. She went all the way to Europe (and also traveled to D.C. and many states) to be heard. She spoke a lot about voice and compassion. She was deeply religious and all of her theological quotes were poignant and spot on . She has so much passion, and passion is the key element to getting your voice heard. It is the driving force in creating change.

Mrs. Richard spoke about not doing this kind of work for the money, she said that you could never succeed if you got into it for monetary gain. She also spoke about her meeting with Ann Klein- a holocaust survivor and talked about the similarities between them. Mrs. Richard said “Struggle is Success," while Ann Klein said “Pain is success.” WelI, I believe that these two are parts of it at least but at some time during the path to success this pain and struggle must be transformed. The first step is awareness of injustice, the next acknowledgement of the pain which is generated by this injustice, the third step is formulating a solution for the transcendence of such and another step is implementing strategies to address the injustice. But that's not it- the community must be involved every step of the way. After all, the individual consciousness is the collective consciousness and vice versa. There can be no movements from a single person. Yes, one person cannot make an entire movement alone. An individual can be a catalyst for a movement but others are needed for the propulsion of the movement. This is why Community Based Participatory Research is so effective. When a community rises up in order to confront their oppressors, transformation is inevitable and injustice cannot and will not prevail. Spirituality is the backbone to many movements associated with people of color in this nation. Churches create a sense of community, spirituality strengthens by giving hope in the face of oppression which is continuously handed out at birth.

In communities of color, people vie for attention and self-worth in various ways because they have been conditioned to believe that they are worthless in every aspect of their lives. What does it mean to a community when an industry, sanctioned by the government, begins to buy up cheap land from an area that is predominantly Black and poor. What is the existential message when even though people are dying and crying out for help, the government takes decades to even acknowledge that something "may" be seriously wrong. How can a community keep the faith that justice will prevail when the blind lady of justice has never tipped the scales in their favor? And what does it mean when community residents who are also plant workers become the gatekeepers of their community and when people know that their job is hazardous to the community but have no other way out? When relocation is not an option, because their whole life is the memories tied to their home? Yes, there are many layers to the "situation" in Mossville.

In our work as advocates working with MEAN we provide a glimmer of hope by sharing not only tools and expertise, but also by listening to the stories that have gone unheard for so long. After becoming involved by witnessing people's stories there is no way that we can step away from the community unchanged. It is imperative that we retain the hope that we can and will help MEAN to bring about change in Mossville in the way that the community sees fit- whether it be a community health clinic, relocation, or some other solution. With every action we take in support of MEAN and thereby the community, we are helping to usher in a new era in which refineries and plants are held accountable for their negligence, just as the government is held accountable for their intentional and unintentional oversight. True, this journey is arduous and at times painful for us as SLC students, but we must bear in mind how difficult it has been for generations and generations of families in Mossville and how we have the opportunity to break that pattern by advocating not on their behalf, but in their favor- or by standing in their corner. We must all keep the faith and never lose hope- for success is imminent when communities unite to break down the barriers that divide them and challenge the oppression and oppressors that marginalize and subjugate them, all in the name of power and profit.

Hazy Lights

Seeing the omnipresence of chemical plants and literally feeling the health effects within hours of arriving in town, I wanted to take time for some brain decongestion. Aside from the murkiness thanks to allergy medicine and Benadryl, the experience thus far has been anything but out of focus. As others have said, the sharp reality of life down here contrasts markedly with the inviting comfort of the people.

When I see this community boxed in by industrial sprawl, I am struck. Struck with the realization that this is capitalism at its worst, when profit margins and corporate wealth outweigh the costs of the lives of residents and workers. There are so many examples of corporate responsibility, just not here. Struck with how we continue to live on the backs of others-- our wealth and growth is a direct result of these policies and practices that poison and pollute.

I can't stop thinking about when I was in the front seat riding with Gloria a few nights ago. We were on the highway, headed back to our beds. As we were around Lake Charles, I remarked, "Look at the city and its lights! Are we headed into downtown?" She chuckled, looked at me, and said, "Josh, that isn't the city. Those are the plants." It finally dawned on me the scope of this project.

The factories at night look like something out of a science fiction novel. A sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare of metal, smoke, and fire illuminated with a hazy yellow glow. I just hope we can all wake up. -- Josh

Thoughts So Far

Since arriving in Mossville, I have been so impressed and touched with the heart and soul of MEAN and its members. Within 3 days of being here, my own health has started to be impacted negatively, and I am in disbelief. I cannot imagine how anyone could live here, day after day, and ignore the serious impact this plant has on the health of the community. The resiliency and compassion of MEAN and its members is astounding, and a true testament to their strength. There is so much inaccurate and misleading information circulating this community regarding the reality of what his happening here, and it is angering to watch the struggles MEAN experiences daily. Clean air, clean water, safe food-these are all things so many of us take for granted. From an advocacy perspective, it has been amazing to work together as a team in support of MEAN, and to witness empowerment in action. To be mindful of our place in this project, and to partner with such awesome individuals. I feel connected to everyone here, and it has brought new meaning to my life, and new awareness about the world we live in. What happens to people who lack voice and power, and how they overcome that barrier-this is why I entered health advocacy. ~~ Liz

Liz & Toi

Thoughts by Beja

Day 3 in Mossville, La. It has been a hard but wonderful few days in one of America's most toxic towns. Yesterday I attended the Truth Tabernacle Pentecostal church and it was by far one of the most warm, exciting church services I have ever had the chance to participate in. There was dancing, singing, clapping, and hugs and greetings from everyone. One member came up to me and said "you may not be in New York, but you are home here". This community is filled with kind people who have opened their hearts to us- sharing their time, their food, and their stories.
The wonderful people of Mossville are juxtaposed by the toxic environment they are forced to live in.

WELCOME TO MOSSVILLE

This is one of the sites that greeted us coming over the 1-10 bridge from Lake Charles into Mossville, LA. Smoke stacks and gas flares sending enough pollutants into the air to give this section of Louisiana one of the highest dioxin contamination rates in the country. Mossville is an historically African-American community founded by freedmen and women at the end of the Civil War. Mossville Environmental Action Now has been organizing for over 15 years for redress, relocation, health care and cleanup of their community.

This blog captures the reflections, revelations and experiences of 8 Sarah Lawrence College Graduate Health Advocacy Program students who are working for and with Mossville Environmental Action Now. MEAN and HAP are conducting research on the ignored and unmet health care needs of a refinery fenceline community carrying the enormous body burden of toxins emitted from the 13 chemical and facilities within a a half mile of their homes.