White Privilege, Racism, White Denial & The Cost of Inequality

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. Hi-Jack ALERT ...

and for this, I apologize ...

I saw reports that communities of color are the ones doing worst in the water crisis in West Virginia. This has been going on for so long, so much that environmental justice advocates always find it in play.

Your comment about environmental justice and communities of color suffering reminded me of a conversation I had, at a dinner party, shortly after Katrina. One of the guests (a known right-winger and racist suspect) asked me whether racism had anything to do with the loss of life.

My response detailed the history of housing patterns in the U.S., that had it that communities of color have been relegated to "lesser desirable area(s)" of every city, whether it be down river (and wind) from the slaughter house/factory, or the mosquito infested 'bottoms', or the transportation/food source deserts of the inner-city." (I wrote a research paper about this in under-grad) "The levy system in N.O. was designed to flood one ward ... the 9th ward ... to save the rest of N.O. The 9th ward, also, was the only section of N.O. proper that Black folks could purchase on home (in the 50s, 60s and into the 70s), and later, was where the 'Projects' were built ... So yes, the deaths in the 9th ward had a racist component."

The dinner party erupted.